The Host Club Presents: Reika Niigata
by AliasesGarble
Summary: Reika Niigata has come to Ouran after a lifetime of homeschooling. She isn't just any ordinary girl, on her first day she met the Host Club and figured out their best kept secret. To keep her quiet, Kyoya decides to welcome her into the club as his assistant. But he is more interested in the absence of her file than anything else.
1. The Host Club Welcomes Reika Niigata!

**Chapter One**

_The Host Club Welcomes Reika Niigata!_

* * *

It was early when the tall brunette girl wandered through the courtyard of Ouran Academy. She was the first student to arrive that morning. She roamed the hallways memorizing every twist and turn, every classroom and every room. When she made it to the office, she smiled brightly at the secretary.

"Hello, I'm Reika Niigata. I'm new to Ouran Academy." she said bowing slightly to the woman behind the desk. "Where would I be able to find my class schedule?"

The woman smiled in return. Though it wasn't her job, she replied, "Wait just a moment, I will grab it for you."

Reika watched as the large hallways of Ouran Academy slowly fill with students. Friends laughed with one another, and she felt a bit of jealousy of how people could be so comfortable with one another.

"Here it is." the woman returned, smile still on her face as she handed Reika her schedule on the nicely printed paper.

"Thank you." Reika replied, bowing slightly once again. She scanned her paper and looked around the school with a deliberate look of astray. "This is quite a big school." she said, trying to make her point more direct.

"Yes." the woman said. "I hope you don't mind, but in your file I saw that you have been privately tutored all your life."

"That's right." Reika responded. "I thought I should give school a try, maybe make some friends…"

In that moment, three laughing girls passed in front of the office and the secretary called for their attention. "Girls, would you come here a minute?" the woman asked.

"What can we help you with Sasaki-san?" the three girls answered in union. Which Reika found slightly weird.

As they approached, Reika got a better look at them. Two of the girls were shorter than her, one had black hair and the other was a brunette. The girl in the middle, the tallest and the same height as Reika had brown hair, and looked as if she was the leader.

"Girls, this is Reika Niigata. She is new to Ouran Academy, would you please show her around?" the secretary, Miss Sasaki, asked politely.

The girls faces suddenly transformed into delight and excitement, again, in union. Reika raised as slight eyebrow at that, but quickly changed it to an imitation of relief and happiness. That was soon replaced with shock as the three girls pulled her into their group while throwing suggestions as to what they could do.

"This is going to be so much fun, we can be best friends now." the short brunette said.

"We can hang out all the time." said the tall one.

"Oh, we can take her to the Host Club with us. They love having new guest!" gushed the third one.

"Oh, yes. This is going to be so much fun!" the short brunette said as thy carried her away.

It wasn't until they had made halfway to their class they realized they had forgotten a very important thing.

"Oh my gosh, girls! We forgot to introduce ourselves." the tall one said with gasp. The others followed suit in their reactions.

"How could we have forgotten?" the one with black hair said. They uncrowded Reika and stood in a line in front of her.

"I'm Princess Minori Shiga." the tall one said.

"I'm Nanami Ito." said the one with black hair.

"And my name is Izumi Maede." said the short brunette.

"It's a pleasure to met you." they said in union.

Reika put on a smile, despite her still weirded-out feeling over their shared emotions and actions, she replied with sincerity. "It's a pleasure to met you all."

They smiled back at her. "Let me see your schedule." Princess Shiga said reaching for the paper the secretary had given Reika, which she gladly gave.

The other two looked at the piece of paper from behind the Princess' back. The three girls sighed mournfully in union.

"What's wrong?" Reika asked.

"You're not in the same class as us." Ito said.

Reika looked down with a sad look, though secretly she was actually relieved. "That's too bad." she said.

"Not to worry!" Meade said, with a look of triumph. "We will all hang out after classes, at the Host Club."

"Oh Rei-chan, you are going to love it." Ito said sighing hanker. "Just love it!"

Reika was only slightly surprised that she had meet these girls not five minutes ago and they already called her as if they had known each other for ages.

"What is the Host Club?" Reika asked as they walked down the hallway towards her class.

"It's just the most amazing thing ever!" Princess Shiga said. "But I won't give it away, we want it to be a surprise."

"Oh, a surprise!" Ito said. "That's a wonderful idea."

They stopped walking in front of a classroom door, which Reika assumed was her class. "Here we are." Maede said opening the door for Reika.

"Thank you." Reika said going in, not expecting the rest of the girls to follow.

There were a few students in the room already, even though the bell had yet to ring. Though Reika couldn't see it, her new friends were paralyzed in shock with their mouths opened at the sight of two particular students in the room.

Reika turned around to check the clock and found the frozen state of her friends. "Are you guys okay?" she asked.

They simultaneously pointed at the blond boy and the dark haired one with glasses at in the middle row.

"What about them?" Reika asked. _Yes, they are attractive. But this seems to be about something else._ Reika thought to herself.

"They are in the Host Club." Ito said, blushing. At her words, the two boys looked towards them. The blonde one smiled while the other kept an indifferent face as they stood up and went to greet the four girls.

"Princess Monori. Nanami. Izumi." the blond one greeted each girl with a kiss on the back of their hands. "And who might you be? I don't think I could ever forget a girl as lovely as you." he flirted with Reika as he took her hand and followed suit to his previous activities with the other girls.

"Um, hi. I'm Reika Niigata…" Reika said, unsure what to do. She wasn't usually around boys. "I'm new to Ouran."

"That must be it." the blond boy said. "Well, allow me to introduce myself. I'm Tamaki Suoh." he said.

"Nice to meet you." Reika said.

"The pleasure is all mine, beautiful flower." he said smoothly. The girls behind Reika blushed and sighed, while Reika simply blushed slightly and looked down.

She wasn't entirely used to boys paying attention to her in flirtatious manner. She needed a distraction from her pink cheeks, she looked to the boy behind Tamaki. He was scribbling notes on a clipboard.

"And you are?" she asked, looking at him.

The boy raised his eyes from his work and smiled. "I'm Kyoya Ootori, a pleasure to meet you Reika Niigata." he said, testing her name. It was familiar to him, but he couldn't quite remember where from. He decided to jot it down on his clipboard and look it up later. "I hope you came join in the Host Club after school."

"Oh, we will!" Ito blurted before Reika could respond.

"We look forward to seeing you then." Tamaki said just as the bell rang. "You girls better go, I would hate to make you late for class."

The three girls sighed smiling and blushing as they complied to his request. "He's so dreamy!" one of them said outside the classroom.

"Bye, Rei-chan." they called as they passed through the door. "See you at lunch."

"Bye." she said. Reika stood still while trying to decide on a good seat. She lost herself in thought until Kyoya look up from his clipboard again and noticed her.

"Aren't you going to class, Niigata?" he asked her.

It took a second a second for his words to reach her. "Hum? Oh, I'm already in class." she said absent minded, deciding on the desk on the third row.

Kyoya looked at her as she sat down. _Interesting_. He said to himself as he got back to seat and continued to write on his clipboard.

* * *

The end of school couldn't come fast enough for Princess Minori, Nanami, and Izumi. After the last bell rang they hurried to Reika's class and waited for her.

"Are you ready?" they said together with excited smiles.

"Yes." Reika replied, also smiling.

They walked together until they came upon Music Room #3. "You're going to love this!" Princess Shiga said as Ito and Maede opened the double doors. The doors opened to a large room set up with tables, chairs, and couches. The room was decorated with roses, and the tables set up with tea and pastries.

"Welcome." said the seven boys in the center of the room.

It took a minute for Reika to take them all in. She recognized Tamaki and Kyoya, of course. The other five members were all different, yet they seemed to fit together well. There were two red haired boys that looked alike. The tall, dark, and bruiting guy with a small and adorable little blond boy on his side. And there was a short boy with brown hair, that had very feminine features and seemed very familiar to her. She would have to take a closer look at that later.

"Isn't it wonderful?" Maede said with a sigh as she was lead away, following Ito to a table with the tall and dark boy that was sitting with the adorable little blond boy.

"Yes…" Reika said, though she was very confused. Princess Shiga noticed, and gave her a reassuring look.

"I'm sure that Kyoya can explain things to you." she said before she was whisked away by Tamaki.

Reika took the opportunity of the absence of her friends to look around the room again. The room was filled with girls wearing the yellow Ouran Academy uniforms. They were wooing and awing the seven boys. Well, six. She noticed Kyoya was writing things down on his clipboard in a corner of the crowded room.

_What was he always writing anyway?_ Reika wondered. Before she realized, she was was walking towards him. He looked up as she approached. "Hello, Ootori." she said to him.

"Hello, Niigata. And welcome to the Host Club." he said smiling.

She smiled back. "What is the Host Club?" she asked.

Kyoya was slightly taken aback, internally, of course. Most girls explained to each other what the Host Club was, or they just went along with it until they understood.

"I'm glad you asked." he said, his smiled widened as he jumped into Tamaki's explanation of the Host Club. "The Ouran Host Club is where the school's handsomest boys with too much time in their hands entertain young ladies who also have way too much time in their hands, just think of it as the Ouran Academy's elegant playground for the super-rich and beautiful."

"Okay…" Reika said, looking a bit weirded-out. She had not known Kyoya for long, but those did not sound like his words as he spoke.

"And please, call me Kyoya." he said.

"Alright, Kyoya." Reika said smiling. "You can call me Reika." she said then paused. "How does the Host Club work?" she asked, genuinely curious.

"It's simple," he said. "First we need to find out what your type is."

"My type?" she asked.

"Yes, every girl has a type of boy she likes." he said. "And the Ouran Host Club has many options to choose from."

"What do you have?" she asked, trying to guess what type each the boys were.

Kyoya pointed at Tamaki. "We have the-"

"Let me guess," Reika interrupted. "The prince charming type?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. Tamaki is the princely kind." he said, fixing his glasses. She nodded for him to continue. He pointed at the twins who were gazing into each other's eyes as the girls swooned.

"Overbearing-near-twincest-brotherly-love type?" she wondered, not entirely sure what to make of it.

"Hikaru and Kaoru are brotherly love, yes. But also devilish." he said.

He pointed at the blond little boy.

"The cute, and innocent type?" she asked.

"Boy lolita, is Honey's prefered title." he said.

"Okay, and the tall guy-"

"Mori."

"Mori," she corrected. "Is the silent and bruiting type."

"Basically, yes." he shrugged. He pointed to the familiar brunette.

"Him, I'm not sure." she admitted, not wanting to offend anyone with her assumptions.

"That's Haruhi, he is the normal type." he said.

She gave him a puzzled look, but nodded. "And what type are you." she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I take care of the club." he said.

"So you're the president?"

"The vice president," he corrected her. "Tamaki is the president."

"What are you, then? Besides the vice president, I mean." she asked.

"The Cool type." he said, he fixed his glasses in an elegant manner so his glasses reflected the light, trying to prove his point.

"Okay, 'cool' guy," Reika teased. "Where do you suggest I start, since I have no idea what my type is."

He looked down at the girl next to him, she was quite tall compared to most girls, he noted. He also wondered how a girl didn't know what type of guy she was attracted to, though it wasn't his place to question it.

"Start with Tamaki, he is our biggest pleaser." he suggested.

"Alright, I will." she said walking away, not quite leaving until she looked back. "Thank you, Kyoya."

Kyoya watched her walk way and into the sitting area where Tamaki was entertaining his guests. _There is something about her. _He said to himself. It was unsettling to him. He decided it was good time to go check her files.

* * *

Reika had spent about ten minutes with Tamaki, before deciding he wasn't really her type. He was very charming, but not much else, at least nothing that he was showing. She drank some tea with Honey and Mori, though she had to admit that Honey was adorable and Mori was very sweet, she just couldn't hang around that much sweetness before it gave her emotional cavities. The twins were a little too much...some girl seemed to love their love though, and she couldn't see what Kyoya meant by the twins being devilish.

Now she was sitting with Haruhi, sipping tea and listening to the story of how he lost and overcame the loss of his mother. It was entirely touching. It was getting to the end of the Host Club and the boys were ushering the girls out. It was then when Reika's curiosity took the wheel on her actions.

She had spent rather a lot of time with Haruhi and she couldn't help but notice how feminine 'he' was and that brought back the familiar feeling and she knew just where she had seen Haruhi before. She just had to ask.

"Haruhi," she said to him. "I don't want this to sound like I'm judging you, but how did a cross-dresser end up in the Host Club?"

Reika, being the last girl there, was heard by all the Host Club members. "_Cross-dresser, cross-dresser, cross-dresser_" the words echoed in the room and in the members heads as they all went pale.

_Something, indeed._ Kyoya said to himself, intrigued.

"What? Haruhi, a girl? No." Tamaki came in trying to save the situation, and failing miserably. "What makes you say that?"

"Yeah, there's no one more manly than Haruhi." one of the twins said and the other agreed.

"Of course Haru-chan isn't a girl." Honey said. "He's wearing boy's clothing."

"That doesn't mean anything, lots of people cross-dress." Reika said shrugging. "I don't mean to cause you any trouble. I personally don't care if you're a boy or a girl, Haruhi. You seem like a really good person."

"Then why did you ask?" Haruhi asked.

"I was merely curious, and well, you're face is very feminine for a boy." Reika said. "The way you act is very girl-like."

"That doesn't mean anything!" Tamaki interjected.

"Not to mention, you're school file says you're a girl." Reika continued, the boys looked at her in shock with wide eyes and gaping mouths. "I barely recognized you with short hair, but in the files it said you're a girl."

"Are you like Kyoya?!" Tamaki asked with a scared tone, the idea of a female Kyoya on his mind. "Do you have a file on everyone in this school?!"

"What?! No." Reika said taken aback, and looking at Kyoya for a minute. "This is the first school I've gone to, I was nervous. So I thought that looking at pictures of people in this school was a good idea. You know, try to find some friendly faces. You just happened to one of the few I looked at." she said looking down, embarrassed.

"You've never been to a school before?" one of the twins asked while the other asked, "How is that possible?"

"No," Reika said, still looking down. "I've been homeschooled all of my life."

"Well," Haruhi said. "I am girl."

"Haruhi!" Tamaki screamed. "Why would you tell her that? We were fooling her!"

"No, you weren't." Reika and Haruhi said at the same time. They looked at each other and laughed in amazement.

"You said you need friends?" Haruhi asked Reika, who nodded. "I'll be your friend."

"Really?" Reika asked.

"Yeah." Haruhi said. "It's not everyday a girl realizes that I'm not a boy."

"Girls see what they want to see." Reika said.

"That's true." Haruhi said laughing. The girls went off talking while the boys looked at each other.

"What do we do now?" Honey asked the others. "She knows Haru-chan's secret."

"She looks like she can keep a secret." Kaoru said thoughfully.

"She's pretty too." Hikaru agreed with brother.

"And if she can't?" Mori asked.

"Don't worry, she will." Kyoya said amused as he watched her.

"How do you know?" Kaoru asked curiously.

Kyoya smiled slyly. "Reika," he called her attention. "How would you like to join the Host Club?"

"What?" was the word that was echoed by each Host Club member, and Mori, who just said "Hm?"

"What are you thinking, Mommy?" Tamaki, who was previously watching Reika and Haruhi intently, asked frantically while shaking his friend.

"Mommy?" Reika asked Haruhi with a confused look as she overheard, Haruhi just shrugged.

"Why are you asking her to join?" Tamaki asked Kyoya. "We already have one girl dressed as a boy."

"I'm not asking her to join the Host Club as a member, more like a manager-"

From the floor of Music Room #3 a girl emerged. "Did someone say manager?" the girl said. "I'm your manager!" she said angrily.

"Who's that?" Reika asked, frankly, a little scared.

"That's our 'manager', Renge." Hikaru said with an annoyed look.

"Calm down, Renge." Kyoya said with a calm tone. "I wasn't thinking of replacing you."

"Then what did you mean by manager?" she asked him.

"Reika would do what I do. She has already shown us she has a good memory, not to mention, she's resourceful. And, frankly, I could use the help. She would be my assistant." Kyoya said.

"Oh, okay." Renge said, but she was still gave Reika a dirty look when she saw Reika with Haruhi. "And don't you dare steal Haruhi from me!" she yelled as she disappeared from the same way she came.

"Doesn't she know you're a girl?" Reika asked Haruhi.

"Nope." Haruhi answered. "Actually, I think she has a crush on me." she said laughing.

In the other side of the room, the boys were having a very different conversation.

"What's the real reason you want Reika to stay?" Kaoru asked Kyoya.

"Could it be that Kyoya-senpai has a crush on a girl?" his brother teased.

"Don't be absurd." Kyoya said with his indifferent look, and fixing his glasses. "I'm simply curious."

"About what, Kyo-chan?" Honey asked.

"She doesn't have a file." he said simply, looking at the girl beside Haruhi.

"You put our club in danger because she doesn't have a file, so you can snoop on her?!" Tamaki asked his friend, while shaking him again.

"That's a little stalker-ish." Hikaru said to his brother who agreed.

"I thought you might be happy." Kyoya said in his always calm tone trying to persuade his impressionistic friend. "Didn't you want Haruhi to have a girl to bound with, one that won't want to date her?"

Tamaki let go of Kyoya, as he slowly agreed. "Nicely played, mommy. Nicely played." he said backing away slowly. He walked away to the side where the girls were talking.

"...and that's why I joined the Host Club." Haruhi finished her story, she and Reika were laughing.

"I guess, as the president, I should officially welcome you to the Ouran Host Club." Tamaki said to Reika, smiling.

"Wait, she hasn't said yes yet." Hikaru said.

"That's right." his brother agreed.

They all turned to look at her. "So what do you say, Reika? Do you want to join the Ouran Host Club?" Tamaki said holding out his hand to her, the members all lining up behind him.

"I would love to." she said, taking his hand.

While the boys and Haruhi cheered, Kyoya looked at Reika. _There is definitely something about her._ He thought, his eyes narrowing towards her.


	2. Reika's First Day as a Host Assistant!

**Chapter 2**

_Reika's First Day as a Host Assistant!/The Grade School Host is the Naughty Type!_

* * *

Reika hurried to Music Room #3, not wanting to be late for her first day as a member of the Ouran Host Club. When she opened the door, red rose petals flew out the door as it opened to reveal the members of the Host Club all dressed up in Arabian clothes, setting up for their guests.

"Welcome, Reika Niigata, to your first day as an official Host Club member." Takami said, giving her a flashy smile. "Since Kyoya recruited you, I'll let him tell you what you need to do. Here's your costume."

He handed her a bundle of light clothes. She inspected the clothes and found that her costume was actually a belly-dancer's attire. "I'm not wearing this." she said rejecting the fabric.

"Why not?" Kaoru and Hikaru asked. "I thought you wanted to be a part of the Host Club."

"I do." Reika said. "But I don't want to be part of the wear-see-through and barely-any-fabric club."

"Come on, I'm sure you'll look wonderful in that outfit." they said in union, while giving her devilish looks, that made Reika raise an eyebrow.

"She doesn't have to wear it if she doesn't want to." Haruhi came to her rescue. The twins turned on her.

"Make her wear the costume and we will give you fancy-tuna." they said whispered to her.

Haruhi weighed her options. _On one hand_, she thought. _I want to be a good friend, but there's fancy-tuna._ Her eyes sparkled. _Reika can take care of herself, plus she wouldn't look that bad in the belly-dancer costume._

"I'm sure it will look great on you." Haruhi said, giving in. She pushed Reika and the costume to the changing room.

"What?" Reika said shocked, as she was pushed into the room.

"Yes." the twins said, giving each other a high five.

Five minutes passed and Haruhi was starting to regret her decision of betraying her friend for fancy-tuna. She decided to check on Reika.

"Reika?" she asked, knocking on the door. "Are you alright in there?"

"I look ridiculous." Reika said through the door.

"You don't have to wear it if it makes you uncomfortable." Haruhi said, trying to comfort her friend.

"No, it's fine." Reika said reaching for the door handle. "Something tells me that costumes are not going to be a one time thing."

When she opened the door, revealing her outfit, everyone was in stand-still shock. The blue and purple costume looked absolutely amazing on her. Her hair was pulled back by the blue see-through veil on her mouth that accented her dark eyes well.

"You look - you look-" Honey was trying to find the right words to describe it. "So cute!" he said tackling her into a hug. "Wow, Rei-chan, you look really pretty."

"Thank you, Honey-senpai." she said grateful that she didn't look like a complete idiot.

The other boys were still too shocked to speak, and Kyoya was not one of them. "Yes, too bad you will have to change before we open the Host Club." he said with his usual calm and indifferent tone, fixing his glasses and writing things on his clipboard.

"What do you mean she can't wear it? She looks great." Tamaki said, while Reika blushed uneasily.

"I'm not debating that she doesn't look great." Kyoya said, his glasses reflecting the light. "But we can't let her walk around the room like that, our clients will get uncomfortable with a girl dressed like that in our Host Club."

Reika smiled at Kyoya, very thankful for his effort to get her to change clothes. All the boys begrudgingly agreed that it would be a better idea if Reika changed. Kyoya handed her a new costume.

"Thank you, Ootori." she said to him.

"Just Kyoya will do." Kyoya said. "And it was in the benefit of the club."

"I'm thankful either way." Reika said smiling at him before she turned around to change.

The boys and Haruhi had less than a minute before the doors of Music Room #3 opened as their new guest arrived. The little elementary school boy was less than the Host Club's average guest.

Reika heard some of the conversation from the dressing room. Tamaki's over dramatic reaction to the little boy calling him the King, and the boy's request to be Tamaki's little apprentice, to which Tamaki agreed.

She changed a costume that covered most of her body and head, so only her face was showing. The dress she was wearing was rather beautiful for a dress that covered most of her body. She left the changing room just as the Host Club started to do introduction.

"Reika," Honey called to her. "Come meet our new apprentice, Shiro Takaoji. He's an elementary school student."

"Hello." she said smiling at the little boy. "My name is Reika Niigata."

"What is a girl doing in the Host Club?" he asked her.

"I help Kyoya with the Club functions." she said, just as she remembered she still didn't know what she was doing to help. "So what can I do, Kyoya?"

Kyoya gave her a pensive look. "You can start by opening the door and start making tea." he said to her.

"Okay." Reika said, going off into the kitchen.

"Make sure to make some instant coffee, too. It's the Host Club's specialty drink." Tamaki said.

"Instant coffee?" Reika asked confused.

"Yes, it's commoners' coffee, haven't you ever had it?" Honey asked.

"No, I've had it." Reika said.

"Than do you not know how to make?" Honey asked. "It's really simple-"

"I know how to make." Reika said. "But why is it a specialty?"

"Because Haruhi introduced us to it, and it's quite good." Tamaki said, looking at Haruhi with a loving smile.

"Okay, then." Reika said, catching on to why it was a specialty. "I'll go make some."

* * *

She didn't come back until later on, when the Host Club had already opened its doors to the many girls of Ouran Academy. Swooning girls in yellow uniforms were everywhere. The club members decided that didn't want to do Arabian Nights today because of their new apprentice, so they had all changes back into regular clothes.

Reika would have been included in the midst of yellow uniform-clad girls, but Kyoya had 'suggested' she should dress in a distinguished dress of a maid, which she complied, begrudgedly.

She was passing out tea and instant coffee when Princess Shiga and her friends noticed her, like many of the other girls had. Every girl in the room was wondering what a girl was doing working with the Host Club, a club exclusively for boys.

"Are you in the Host Club now, Rei-chan?" Princess Shiga asked.

"Yes." Reika responded. "I'm helping out Kyoya."

Girls from every side of Reika gave her a jealous look. "So you get to spend your club hours with the seven boys?" Ito asked, politely while inside she was clawing Reika's eyes out.

_Six._ Reika corrected in her mind. Still putting on smile as she replied, "Yes."

Girls from every direction demanded what to know what she did to be given that honor. Reika completely missed Tamaki's conversation with Takaoji and his 'mermaid' princess. Reika got out of her entanglement of jealous girls to find Kyoya watching her.

"Do you think it'll get better?" she asked him, knowing fully well that he had been watching the whole thing. The girls were still struggling on top of each other and yelling at a person that wasn't there any more.

"With time." he said closing his book.

There was a clatter of broken china, Kyoya and Reika's attention shifted to where Haruhi, Shiro Takaoji, Hikaru, Kaoru, and Tamaki were previously giving a poor attempt to fool Takaoji that Haruhi was not a cross-dresser.

"It's not my fault I dropped it," Shiro Takaoji said. "It's your fault 'cause you were the one that made me take it in the first place."

"Say what?" Haruhi said puzzled.

Kyoya slided next to his friends. "Haruhi, that's another one-hundred-thousand yen." he said slightly amused.

"Hmm?" Haruhi said surprised and defeated.

"Hey, you should make the cross-dresser do all your stupid chores," Shiro Takaoji said.

Kyoya returned to Reika's side, giving her an expectant look. "I'll get the broom." she said rolling her eyes at him.

When Reika returned, all the girls were gone and Shiro Takaoji was in a cage. "Where did that cage come from?" Reika asked Haruhi.

"That's what I want to know." Haruhi replied relieved she wasn't the only one wondering that.

"I'm going to run out of time, please won't you teach me." Takaoji pleaded with Tamaki. Haruhi and Reika looked at each other. "You're a host because you like girls, you like bringing a smile to a girl's face. That's why you do it, right?"

Tamaki carefully sipped him tea, listening to the boy. "Please won't you teach me. You're a genius at it. The King." Takaoji said.

Clearly, the words 'The King' and 'Genius' stroked Tamaki's ego, because he stood up with determinate look. "You may be a brat. But I admire your desire to become a Host, so I'll teach you." he said, before his face changed completely. "You know Shiro, you and I are so much a like."

"You poor kid." Haruhi interjected.

By then, Reika wasn't really paying attention, as she started to pick up the pieces of broken china on the floor. She took the big pieces and dropped them in the paper bag, when she was nearly done she cut her finger on the china.

"Shoot," she said looking at the blood on her finger.

"Allow me," Mori said taking a cloth napkin and placing it on her finger to stop the bleeding.

"Thank you, Mori-senpai." Reika said, blushing. He looked into her eyes for a minute while she looked down at the floor and then let go of her finger.

"I trust you can handle yourself from here?" he said standing up.

"Yes." she said brushing the remainder of the broken china into the paper bag and stood up. "Thanks, again." she said leaving the room.

Reika took her time in the trash room and getting herself a band-aid. When she returned she saw Renge giving the boys a lecture on Lolita or Shota types, and Reika decided to take a while doing something else. She was still very afraid of Renge and she could be capable of.

When she came back again a few minutes later, the Host Club and Renge had dressed up Takaoji and he had bumps and bruises that Reika was sure weren't there before, and they were tripping the poor little boy.

"What's going on?" Reika asked no one in particular. She watched the scene in front of her, both with intrigue and worry.

Renge went to Takaoji's rescue after he was tripped. "Are you okay, little boy?" she asked with concern which was quickly replaced by the sound of her whistle. "Now give'em your catch phrase."

"No big deal," Takaoji said. "It was nothing."

Renge swooned. "That was perfect!" she said. "Absolutely perfect, Shiro."

"That was outstanding." Tamaki complemented Renge genuinely while clapping. "I never knew you were such a good coach, Renge." Which causes Renge to laugh triumphly.

Shiro Takaoji looked put off. Reika observed. "I've had enough of you people!" Takaoji screamed. "This is so stupid, none of this is ever gonna help me make her happy."

"Who's her?" Haruhi asked Takaoji, but he didn't listen, he ran out the door.

"Wait, Shiro." Tamaki called after him. "We haven't taught you how to apply the techniques you've learned yet." The door slammed.

"I swear, younger boys are good for nothing." Renge said as she sunk back to whole on the floor. "I went through all that trouble to coach him, and he quit."

"I can't believe he ditched us because he didn't like lesson." Tamaki said. "What a selfish little brat."

Reika face-palmed, _wasn't he paying attention?_ She asked herself.

"There aren't many people who enjoy that type of lesson." Haruhi said to Tamaki. "But never mind that, weren't you listening to what he said?"

Tamaki gave Haruhi a black look. "Hmm?" he asked.

Reika smiled at Haruhi, at least she wasn't the only one who noticed.

"He said he was going to run out of time, what do you think he means by that?" she asked him. "I think that, maybe, it's a girl." Tamaki looked at the door thoughtfully.

"Did you pick up the shards?" Kyoya asked Reika out of nowehere.

Reika looked at him, snapping out of her thoughts as she was slightly scared. "Yes." she said.

"Good." he said. "Then you can come along for the plan."

"What plan?" she asked confused, she was sure she wasn't that deep in thought to have missed that.

"The plan that Tamaki is going to come up with to break into the elementary school." he said smirking.

"And how do you know that?" she asked, lifting her eyebrow curiously.

"I just do." he said, motioning for her to follow him. He looked her up and down. "You're too tall to be a middle schooler."

"I should hope so." she said confused.

* * *

It wasn't until later, when Music Room #3 dimmed its lights that she understood what Kyoya meant by his comment of being 'too tall to be a middle schooler'. Now Haruhi and Honey were walking down the hallway of Ouran Elementary School in disguises. Honey was wearing an elementary school uniform, and Haruhi was wearing one of a middle schooler. It was all part of Tamaki's plan.

"Oh, there is a reason. A damn good reason." Tamaki told Reika when she asked why.

"Isn't she the cutest." the twins said observing Haruhi.

"Oh, look at her in that miniskirt." Tamaki said from the open crack of the door, he was so red he looked like a blond tomato. "Haruhi looks like a little doll." he cooed.

"So, basically you just wanted to see her dressed up like that." Kyoya said, with a matter-of-fact tone.

Tamaki started sweating as he realized how perverse his plan was. "Pervert." Reika commented, smiling to herself.

"I'm not a pervert!" Tamaki over reacted.

Reika just kept on smiling. "Oh, yes you are." she said. "You call yourself her 'daddy', and you enjoy seeing her dressed up like a middle schooler. There is definitely some perviness going on here."

"She's got a point, boss." the twins said.

"Whatever," Tamaki said slightly offended, opening the door fully. "Let's go find them."

The boys smiled at each other and followed Tamaki out of the room.

"There's nobody here." Haruhi said when the boys and Reika were close to the room.

"So the kids' classroom is empty, is it?" one of the boys said outside.

"This sure takes me back." the twins said entering the room.

"I wonder if doodles are still on my desk." one of the twins said. Reika still wasn't quite sure which twin was which, but she was getting close and Haruhi was a big help.

"Doubtful." Kyoya responded. "The school changes out the desks every year."

As the boys kept on with their idle chatter, Reika noticed Haruhi getting testy. "Hey," she said. "If you're just gonna barge in here like that, than why did we have to wear these stupid disguises?"

"Payback?" Reika said to Haruhi, who gave Reika a dirty look. Making Reika laugh.

"Don't worry about it." one the twins said. "There's no one here to catch us." the other finished. And just like that, there were footsteps. All of them ducked behind the desks.

"So much for that theory." Reika whispered sarcastically to herself.

"If the teacher finds us." one twin began. "We'll have a hard time explaining why we snuck in." the other finished.

"Shh." Haruhi and Reika said together.

"Shut up guys." Haruhi said. "Just keep your lips zipped." she said making the gesture for sealed lips. Reika smiled, when she the twins and Tamaki do the same gesture while blushing.

Reika was closest to the door and she heard the footsteps walking away from the classroom to check. "Okay, we're good." she whispered to them as the teacher kept walking down the other hallway.

"You guys, we came here to get the scoop on Shiro, so what do you think we should do now?" Haruhi asked the boys.

Reika pointed to the pictures on the wall where Kyoya and Honey were looking. "Well, here's something interesting." Kyoya said. The rest of the Host Club turned to the pictures on the wall.

"What did you find?" Haruhi asked Kyoya. He pointed to a picture of Takaoji and a little girl playing the piano. "Hey, that's Shiro."

"So he's in the Classical Music club." Kyoya noted.

"It looks like he's enjoying himself." Haruhi said. "It's nice to him with a smile on his face. I had no idea he could look so sweet."

"Yeah." Tamaki agreed.

It was then that Reika's phone chose to ring. "Sorry, guys." she said finding her phone and looking at the caller ID. "I've got to take this."

"It's okay," Honey smiled. "We should probably look for Shiro in the elementary music room."

"Meet us in Music Room #3 later." Kyoya said to her, Reika could see that he was trying to look at the caller ID. But her thumb was pressed against it, like she was trying to erase it.

"Okay." she said staying in the room while the others left.

She opened her phone when they all left and sighed. "Hello, Mother." she said.

"You didn't forget about our little meeting after school, did you?" her mother asked. There were no formalities with that woman, she went straight to the point. When Reika didn't respond, she just kept going. "You know how important this meeting is, you need to learn all there is about our company if you're going to run it some day. Or at least, in your case, marry someone who can. I worked hard on this company to make it what it is today. I'm not going to let you just throw all that away."

"I didn't forget, Mother." Reika said trying to stop her Mother from talking. The words her mother spoke burned her ears as she wished she could forget them.

"Great." her mother said and hung up without saying good-bye.

"Bye." Reika said when she closed her phone. "Nice talking to you." she added sarcastically.

What Reika didn't notice was Kyoya listening in to her conversation. He didn't say or think anything when the conversation between Reika and her mother ended, he just left to go find the others.

* * *

She was waiting for them when they got back, Tamaki was carrying a struggling Takaoji. He unceremoniously dropped Shiro Takaoji on the couch. After some arguing on both sides, emotions changing from anger to understanding to gratefulness, Tamaki uncovered the piano in the Club room and offered Shiro Takaoji piano lessons to impress his little crush.

Reika leaned back on the couch, letting Tamaki's words sink in as he played the piano with Takaoji. She saw both boys in completely new lights. There was more to Prince Charming than just being charming, and more to the troubled little elementary student.

When Shiro Takaoji had mastered the piano well enough, the Host Club invited Hina Kamishiro to join them in a private recital just for her.

The two little fifth-year elementary schoolers played the piano together while the Host Club watched them proud of their accomplishment.

"We did a good thing." Tamaki said to the others.

"He loves with all his heart." Haruhi said to Tamaki. "So I guess that's one more way Shiro takes after you. Huh, senpai."

Tamaki turned around and smiled at her. "Why, yes. I'd say so." he said to her. They stood there, smiling at each other.

Reika, who was standing on the other side of the room, smiled at them before she noticed Kyoya staring at her. With a blink of an eye, he wasn't any more, and Reika was left with the feeling she might have just imagined that moment.

* * *

It was later that evening, Kyoya was going over the numbers of the Host Club and Reika, as his assistant, was there as well.

Kyoya was tipping on his computer, Reika was organizing the customers files while trying to catch Kyoya's attention. But her attempts were futile.

She sighed. "How does the Host Club make money?" she asked him.

He kept looking at the computer and for a while it looked like he didn't hear her. "Merchandise of the Host Club, our customers pay top price for it." he said fixing his glasses and looking at her. "Then, there is our priority services as well as our online auctions for Host Club memorabilia."

"Wow." she said, impressed. "How much money do you make from it?"

"Here, take a look." he said moving his laptop to her line of sight. Reika's eyes nearly popped out of her head when she saw the numbers. So many zeros.

"Th-that's…" she struggled to find the right words. "Incredible." she said finally. Kyoya looked very pleased with himself. She looked at him. "What you've done, turn a simple Host Club into an empire, it's both amazing and scary."

"Thank you." Kyoya said with his usual calm tone, but there was a bit of a smile in it. "Now, for the reason I need your services." he said reaching into his bag and pulling out a big stack of pictures. "I need you to sort out the blurry pictures and the good ones, for our new spread."

"Okay." Reika said, but she felt a bit disappointed by it, was this what working for Kyoya was going to be like? She was so absorbed into her task of sorting that she almost didn't notice Kyoya packing up his laptop. "Where are you going?" she asked.

"I have a family dinner I have to get to." Kyoya said. "I'm sure you will be able to finish your task and lock up." he said tossing her the keys to the room.

She caught them. "Yeah, sure." she said getting back to her sorting. "Good luck with your dinner."

"Thank you," he said taken slightly aback. _Did she know that family dinners meant dinner with an important business partner?_ He shook his head, _how could she?_ He gave her one last look then he disappeared out of the doors of Music Room #3.

Reika looked down at her phone, there were several text messages and missed calls from her mother asking where she was. She was supposed to at home right now, getting lectured on the importance of the dinner with the Ootori family a month from now and how she had to carefully lay out her achievements so that she could seem like a fitting wife.

She smiled to herself as she came upon a picture of Kyoya. "Good luck, indeed." she whispered to his picture. "To both of us."


	3. And So She Impressed Him!

**Chapter 3**

_And So She Impressed Him!_

* * *

Getting the pictures sorted was a mind numbing activity, and she was still not late enough for it to be a plausible excuse. Reika sighed and thought about what else she could do to pass the time.

Drumming her fingers on the table she looked from the laptop on her bag to the scanner on the end of the table. A small smile crossed her face as she reached for the pictures she just sorted out.

Much later that evening, Reika, aided by her maid, successfully sneaked into her room only to turn on the light and be face to face with her mother. Reika's eyes widened and her hand flew to her chest, a tell-tale sign she had just been scared.

"Do you know what time it is?" her mother asked her. Reika sighed, knowing her mother really didn't want an answer. "I'll tell you what time it is, it's late. Far later that we both agreed you would be home."

_You came up with that arrangement and then expected me to follow through with it, without asking my opinion!_ Reika said to herself, she knew her mother definitely wouldn't want to hear that.

"What am I going to do with you, Reika?" her mother asked, throwing her hand in the air. "You are the heiress, reluctant, but still the heiress. I know that taking your brother's position might seem a little unfair, but they're gone now Reika."

Hearing those words felt like a slap. Tears threatened to fall out.

"You have to move on, Reika." her mother said. "They left us in charge of their world and we have to buck up and take responsibility for it." she said starting to leave her room. "I know it's hard, but one day you're going to thank me for it."

Reika waited for her mother to leave before she shut the door and responded. "Like Aunt Mai is going to thank you?" she asked the women behind that the door that would never hear her. Fighting with her mother was useless, she never listened, and she always turned her arguments back on however she was fighting with. She was an excellent business woman, but a terrible mother.

Reika grabbed her pillow to muffle her frustrated screams. She laid in her bed and trying to erase the one sided argument from her mind. She sighed and reached for her laptop to look once again at the project she had been working with before she got home.

* * *

**Ten Days Later…**

It was another late evening in Music Room #3, where only Kyoya and Reika remained, once again. The only sound that could be heard was the swing of the pendulum of the grandfather clock. Reika patiently unwrapped the food containers she had gone out and bought while Kyoya inspected her little project.

He was staring at the pages of the book intently as Reika slided over his food and tea. Seeing as it looked like it was going to be a while, Reika got out her own food and drink and sat down.

Just as she opened her box, Kyoya let out a frustrated groan. "Why can't I find myself?" he said as he fumed over the pages of the almanac Reika created. It was the first time she had ever heard Kyoya without his calm tone of voice. It was amusing, he really was human after all.

She gave a small chuckle and walked behind him. "I gave you a clue," she said pointing at the words at the bottom.

"It says, 'Kyoya is off getting his favorite treat', but where on earth in that?" he asked her.

"Do you give up?" she asked him.

"Yes, fine. I do." he said. "Just show me where it is."

Reika laughed again. "The answer is right in front of you." she said pointing at the symbol on top of his food container.

"Oh, I see." Kyoya said as he found a little restaurant on the picture of the book and there he was. A photoshopped version of himself leaving his favorite restaurant. He bowed his head in shame, then picking it up again and with his calm look back on his face. "This is going to be too hard for the customers to find. I am sorry Reika, we can't use it."

"No, it's not," Reika said rolling her eyes, and smiling undefeated. "If you bothered to look at your own profile and fun-facts pages you would have known where you were." she flipped through the pages and pointed to the favorite food category.

"How do you know that was my favorite food?" he asked suspiciously.

"I've pick it up every afternoon for the past two weeks, give me a little credit." she said.

Kyoya was silent for a minute, flipping over the almanac. "I'm impressed." he said simply, closing the book. "It's good. It's really good."

"Meaning?" she asked.

"You have just created our newest fundraiser." he said. "Good job, you have exceeded my expectations of you."

"Umm…" she said uncertain that was a compliment. "Thanks?"

"You are very welcome." Kyoya said opening his food container and breathing in the smell of his spicy rolls. "So what are the plans for this almanac?"

"I thought about making one with all the Host Club members," she said, and she could see that Kyoya disagreed and she smiled. "But that wouldn't be quite as profitable."

Kyoya nodded, "Very good." he said.

"So, I think that there should be one for every Host, the twins together, of course." she explained. She knew they both had different personalities and tastes, but they didn't like anyone else knowing that. "And then, we will have a deluxe pack where we have one with all the boys and the history of the Host Club."

He stopped eating a long time ago. _That's brilliant._ He thought to himself. He was staring at her, he knew he was and yet he couldn't stop himself. _Who are you?_ He asked her in his mind.

Reika was busy talking about it, looking straight ahead, once her eyes turned back to Kyoya his reverted back to his food as he shoved a mouth full of spicy rolls. His eyes started to water as he saw the green paste on the rolls that Reika always made sure to get him.

_Damn her attention to detail!_ He yelled at himself as he reached for his tea without making a scene.

"What do you think?" she asked him.

"That's quite good." he said giving her a toothless smile to hide the fact that his mouth was still burning.

"Are you alright, Kyoya?" she asked him concerned. Never had she seen him give anyone that kind of smile, it looked pained and like he was covering for something.

"I'm perfectly well." he said with the same smile.

"If you don't like my idea you don't have to go through with it." she said offended.

"No, no." he said. "Your idea was good."

"But?"

"There is no but."

"Then why are you smiling like that. It's kind of creepy."

"No reason."

"Really?"

"Yes."

Reika looked from Kyoya to his food. "Did you shove a bunch of spicy rolls down your throat?" she asked him, her eyes narrowed with question.

"No, of course not." he lied.

"Sure…" she said unconvinced. "Then eat another."

"I'm not hungry right now." he said eyeing his tea.

"So you won't mind if I take this away." she said taking his tea away. Kyoya licked his lips looking at his tea, contemplating giving in. "Just tell me you that I was right and you can drink your tea."

"I'm perfectly fine." he said, not giving in.

Reika smiled sadistically at him. "You can either admit you mainlined spicy rolls with a very generous portion of wasabi without thinking about it." she said staring straight at him. "Or, I can ask what made you mainline spice rolls without thinking about it."

Kyoya narrowed his eyes at her, thinking weather or not he could walk away from this room. But both of them knew that if he did, she would know she was right. On both questions. Which made him pick the easy way out.

"Damn you and your observational skills." he said with a bit of theatrics, he reached for his tea.

Reika stood up smiling taking her empty food containers to the trash outside, giving Kyoya an easy way out. Before she left the through the doors she turned back. "Try milk, it helps more than tea." she advised him, and with that, she was gone.

Kyoya looked at her as she left. There was definitely something about her, something that intrigued him almost as much as when he meet Tamaki. He stood up and went to the kitchen to get himself some milk.

When Reika came back, he was gone, just as she expected him to be. She sighed sitting down and sipping the rest of her soda. She picked at her nails as she waited for him to return.

Once Kyoya had returned to Music Room #3, he was shocked to find Reika skillfully building a house of cards on the table.

"Do you tend to get jaded a lot?" he asked her.

Reika was busy concentrating on her house of cards that once he snuck up behind her, she fell on the construction. Her eyes were wide with embarrassment and surprise. "What was the question again?" she asked him, pushing herself off the table and tried playing it off.

Kyoya fought the urge to laugh, but he couldn't help the smile that crept on his face. "Do you tend to get bored a lot?" he repeated.

"Oh, yes." she said. "A lot."

An idea crossed his mind. "How about we teach you some useful skills then?" he said.

"Really?" she asked. "Like what?"

"I take it you have all the right education on the academics department from your private tutoring and your advanced placement in the latest test scores." he said.

She wasn't even shocked. "Yes, and thank you." she said.

"You are of some sort of fortune, I can tell that by your refinement." he said. Reika didn't answer, she only smiled. "You don't need any pointers in decorum."

"Thank you." she said.

"You excel in observation, memory, technology, and you seem to know what people want before they ask." he said, not to complement her, simply pointing it out. "How are your self-defense skills?"

"I've never considered it." she admitted.

"And your people skills seem to be a little rusty." he pointed out.

"I don't usually talk to people." she said.

"Then we will have to rectify that." he said.

"Why are you doing this, Kyoya." she asked him. "It doesn't seem like you."

"Maybe it is." he said. Reika raised an eyebrow. "We will start tomorrow after Host Club."

They both gathered their things, locking the door behind them, and then going off in opposite directions.

* * *

A few days later, Reika and Mori were sparring on the mat that Kyoya had especially brought in so she could train in Music Room #3.

_She's a fast learner._ Mori thought as she dodged his attacks and even made a few attempts at attacks herself. Reika pushed Mori away for a long enough time to try the new move she learned. She spun around, lifting her right leg, and attempting to kick Mori in his diaphragm. The attack failed as he caught her foot and spun her foot along with her whole body.

A normal beginner would have fallen down face first. But, as Mori and Kyoya had come to realize, Reika was not a normal beginner.

She landed crouched down with her right leg held close to her chest and her left extended back. She stared at Mori's feet and smiled as she swung her left leg to hit Mori's. He jumped over it, just like she knew he would, giving her time to stand up and regain some foot in the fight.

They were back to sparing and Kyoya was rapidly losing interest in it. He had his own agenda to fulfill, afterall, and he thought the best way to gain her trust would be to keep Reika distracted. She had a high guard and was very observant, it was very difficult to get secrets out of people like that.

"Reika," he said, getting some of her attention. "May I ask your opinion on something?"

"Sure thing." she said dodging one of Mori's hits that went over her head.

"I was thinking about taking the Host Club on a retreat, what do you think?" he asked.

"I think," she said blocking an attack. "That would be great idea." she said landing a blow to Mori's hands. "Where are you thinking of taking them?"

"As you well know, my family owns quite the industry in medicine." he explained. "We are opening a theme park."

"Cool." Reika said blocking two attacks at once.

"It would be good for the Host Club, we've all worked very hard." Kyoya said. "And the theme park could really use the feedback from guests before it opens."

"Okay, but what about Haruhi?" she asked, giving Mori the signal she needed a break, and went to grab her water bottle.

"What about her?" he asked.

"She doesn't seem like the type of girl that would just drop everything to go to a resort." she explained.

"Oh, I have my ways." he said, his glasses reflecting the light. To normal people, it would have sounded scary, but Mori and Reika were used to Kyoya's sense that he could always get everything he wanted.

"Do you mean kidnapping?" she asked him with a blunt tone.

"It's not kidnapping if I have her father's permission." he said turning away from her and fixing his glasses smartly.

"You talk to her father?" Reika asked shocked and a little weirded out.

"Of course, his daughter is under our care." Kyoya said. "He has the right to be informed."

"Do you talk to all the Hosts' parents." she asked him. What she was really asking though, was: did you talk to my mother?

"Most, yes." he said.

"And you don't find that a bit odd?" she asked him.

"Why? It's perfectly normal for a parent want to know what their children are doing at school, especially in club activities." he answered.

"If you say so." she said taking another swing of her water bottle, and draping her towel on her shoulder. "Well, that's enough training for me." she said as she headed out the door. "Thanks again, Mori-senpai."

Mori smiled at her and nodded. Which Reika always took as a 'you're welcome' or 'my pleasure.'

"Bring a bathing suit tomorrow." Kyoya called out after her.

"Don't mind if I don't." she said back to him.

Kyoya frowned, though he didn't quite understand why her answer had upset him so much. Mori looked at him and gave him an all-knowing smile before he too left Music Room #3.


	4. Our Job is Never Done!

**Chapter 4**

_Our Job is Never Done!/ Jungle Pool SOS!_

* * *

The next day, Reika and Kyoya had arranged for all the Host Club members to be excused from classes early without question. Tamaki, Kyoya, Reika were the first to be released from class.

"This is going to be so much fun!" Tamaki said as he sauntered over to the limo.

Reika and Kyoya gave each other amused looks before they too walked to the limo whose door was being held open by the driver.

Tamaki got in, then Reika. Kyoya stopped to talk to the driver before getting in. "We might have to drive around a little before the rest of our passengers arrive." he told the driver.

"Alright, sir." the driver said as Kyoya sat down, and the driver moved to close the door.

It wasn't long until Mori and Honey joined them in the limo. "I'm so excited." Honey said. "Are you excited. Mori-chan?"

"Yes, Mitsukuni." Mori said simply.

"Good." Honey said hugging his bunny closer to himself. "I heard that the Hika-chan and Kao-chan are going to be late because they couldn't find Haru-chan anywhere."

"We'll just wait for them then." Kyoya said before hailing the attention of the driver.

They drove around at least three times before Tamaki pointed out where Hikaru and Kaoru were practically dragging Haruhi out of school.

The limo halted and Tamaki rolled down the window. "Good work." he said to the twins. "Now take her with you."

"Roger." the twins said together as Tamaki rolled the windows backup. The twins laughed evilly as Kaoru opened the limo door and Hikaru tossed Haruhi in.

"Wait, where are we going?" Haruhi asked the only other girl in the car desperately as the car speed off.

"We are taking a well deserved break." Tamaki said before Reika could respond. "Oh, Haruhi, you are going to love it."

"You sure about that?" she asked him, a little ticked off.

The drive was slightly uneasy, there was a lot of silence in the beginning. Honey said something that was apparently funny that got all the guys the laugh, and left the girls to give each other quizzical looks.

At last, they arrived at the theme park. The girls had barely enough time to see it before they were pulled by Hikaru and Kaoru in the direction of a yellow building. They were meet by twin maids in front of the building.

"Here, do what you've got to do." the red haired twins said smiling to their maids.

The maids smiled. "Okay, we'll do what we can." one of them said.

"Ms. Fujioka, Ms. Niigata," the second one said. "Just follow me." she gave the girls a startling look that almost send off both girls running the opposite direction. They both knew what that look meant, it was the same look they got all their lives when another girl offered to give them a makeover.

Haruhi screamed a little. "B-but w-why?" she asked them, while Reika was paralyzed with fear.

They were pulled by the - surprisingly strong - maids into the changing rooms, the door shut and clothes were pulled off.

"Hold on!" Haruhi said shocked.

"What are you doing?!" Reika asked them confused and a little bit angry.

"Hey, stop that!" Haruhi yelled at them, pulling away.

"We've been asked to help you choose a swim suit." one of the maids said.

"We've brought all of our mother's latest designs for you girls to choose from." one of the twins yelled from outside. "Just pick which ever one you want."

There were a lot of swimsuits in that room. Reika and Haruhi looked at each other with wide eyes. Of surprise or fear, neither of them knew.

"Are you ready, Ms. Fujioka?" one of them asked while the other said, "Are you ready, Ms. Niigata?" at the same time. "It's time to pick one." they said in union.

"Thanks, but I don't need a swimsuit." Haruhi said.

"Yeah, I'm okay too." Reika said, smiling uneasily.

The maids separated them.

"Why don't you let me select one for you." said the maid that herded Reika away from Haruhi.

"Um…" Reika said thoughtfully. _How bad could it be?_ She asked herself. _It's just a swimsuit._ "Sure."

"No, not that one." she heard Haruhi yell. "I don't want a bikini!"

"I bet this one would be cute." Reika's maid said showing her a bikini bottom that looked like a fishing net.

"Umh...but that's nothing but a couple of strings." Haruhi said when she saw the red bikini bottom that the one of the maids was showing Reika.

"You and I have a very different idea of cute." Reika said perplexed while looking at the article of clothing.

"Okay, how about this one." one of the maids showed the girls a pink swimsuit with red and white accents and a swim cap with a red flower.

"It's not bad, I guess." Haruhi said. It was far more girly than anything she owned.

"I think it would look good on you." Reika encouraged her friend.

"Really?" Haruhi asked.

"Yeah." Reika said. "And it's far better than that." she said putting at the red bikini bottom one of the maids had previously held.

Both girls shuddered. "Okay, I guess I'll take this one." Haruhi said as she and one of the maids helped her change.

"What about you, Ms. Niigata?" the remaining maid said.

"I don't know…" Reika said. "Do you anything less scandalous." she said once again pointing at the red article of 'clothing'.

"I think I have just the thing." the maid said smiling as she dug around the swim suits.

"What do you think?" Haruhi asked as she was now clothed in the pink swim suit.

Reika smiled. "You look great." she said, making her friend smile too.

"Do you want me to wait for you?" Haruhi asked.

"No, you go ahead." Reika said.

"Okay." Haruhi said leaving the changing room.

"Here it is, Ms. Niigata." the maid said showing her a purple two piece swimsuit. It wasn't a bikini, it was a tank top with a bikini bottom.

Reika accepted it, with the addition of light beach wrap she found that matched the suit well. The maids helped her do her hair so it was in a braided down over her right shoulder with a tropical flower woven in the beginning of the braid.

She looked at herself in the mirror and smiled. The swim suit combined with the wrap around her hips didn't show much skin aside from her her arms, the upper part of her back, a little bit of her lower stomach, and her left leg when she walked.

"Thank you," she said to their maids. The maids high-fived each other as Reika left the changing room.

She followed the footpath, along the way she became confused as to where the rest of the Host Cub was. She looked at the fork in the footpath that lead to five different directions, looking at one sign to the other.

"There you are, Rei-chan." Honey said as he, who was mounted on Mori's shoulders, arrived from the one of the paths on Reika's left.

"Hello." Reika said smiling. "Do you know where everyone is?"

"They are at the main pool." Honey said. "This way." he said as Mori walked to the footpath in front of Reika.

She followed them, falling in step with Mori. "Thank you." she said. "This theme park is really big."

"I know," Honey said smiling. "I can't wait to swim, and use my cute new floaty."

"I'm not much of a swimmer." Reika said.

"Really?" Honey asked. "That's too bad. But your swimsuit looks really good on you."

"Um...thanks." she said, the pool area came into view. "Apparently is part of the twin's mother's latest design."

"I love her designs, they are all so pretty." Honey said. "They all look like pastries."

"Yeah," Reika said as the rest of the boys and Haruhi took notice of them.

Tamaki was talking to the twins, trying to convince them of something. As far as Reika could tell. Haruhi was looking at the water, she had changed from her swim suit to a yellow sweat shirt and green plaid shorts.

"Excuse us, Rei-chan." Honey said to her. "We are going swimming, you are welcome to join us."

"No, but thanks, Honey-senpai." Reika said smiling at the blonde boy and his tall companion. "You guys go ahead."

She went to go talk to Haruhi. "What happened?" Reika asked Haruhi curiously.

"I'm not sure." Haruhi said sincerely, Reika gave her a confused look. "Tamaki gave me a whole speech about how my swimsuit was inappropriate until marriage, and gave me these." she motioned to her current clothes.

"That's bizarre." Reika said. She knew what Tamaki's gesture meant, and she was in awe, but Haruhi apparently didn't understand. _Best to not burst her bubble._ Reika said to herself.

"I know, he can so weird sometimes." Haruhi said laughing, Reika joined her.

It was finally then that the twins noticed Reika's presence. They both smiled deviously to themselves as they pointed her out to Tamaki.

"Hey boss, are you sure it's okay for Reika to be dressing like that?" Kaoru asked Tamaki.

"Well, yeah." Tamaki said unbothered as he looked at the girls. "She isn't showing all that much skin."

"Sure thing, boss." the twins said defeatedly.

Reika and Haruhi were still laughing together when Kyoya approached them. "There you are, Reika." he said. "I need your help with something."

"Okay, with what?" Reika asked, but Kyoya was already pulling her away from Haruhi.

Reika and Haruhi were used to this, Kyoya out of the blue asking Reika for help. Usually it was botherless tasks. Haruhi and Reika gave each other see-you-later faces as Reika allowed herself to be pulled away by Kyoya.

They finally stopped at a secluded building. "What's up?" Reika asked him patiently, to whatever nonsense he would ask her to do, as they entered the building.

"I need you to talk to the printing guy." Kyoya said, opening the third door in the building, which opened to an office.

"What is this place?" Reika asked him.

"It's the VIP house." Kyoya informed her. "It's for the use of the Ootori family and our special guests while we are in the theme park."

"Cool." she said impressed.

"Nevermind that," he told her as he navigated her to sit down a chair behind the office table. "I need you to talk to the printing guy."

"Why me?" she asked him. "Why can't you do it?"

"Because every time you ask him to do something, he actually does it well." he explained. "When I ask him, the product always comes back in subpar condition."

"Why not just fire him, then?" she asked him.

"Because even his subpar work is better than most, after you ordered prints they were even better." he said.

"Fine." she said leaning back on the chair and picking up the phone. "Hello, Mr. Nakamura." she said to the man at the other end of the line. What had her attention however, wasn't Mr. Nakamura.

Kyoya was watching her intently, trying to see what about her made Mr. Nakamura work his best. During his intense studying of her every move and word that Reika realized just how tightly her swimsuit top hugged her body as she struggled to breathe. She shrugged it off and concentrated on talking to Mr. Nakamura.

Ten minutes and many flattering comments from Mr. Nakamura later, Reika ended the call sighing. "I thought we were on vacation." she mumbled with her eyes closed.

"Even if the Host Club is on vacation, Reika, our work is never done." he told her.

"Great." she said giving him an annoyed look.

"It's not like you came here to relax, anyway." he told her.

"And you know that because…?" she asked him, sitting up on her chair.

"I found this," he held up the book she brought. "In the limo."

"Some people find reading relaxing." she told him, standing from her desk.

"And you would be one of them?" he asked, leaning over the desk to better look at her, who was at the opposite side of the desk.

"Yes." she said mirroring his actions. They stared at each other for a few minutes in silence, until Kyoya cleared his throat, breaking the moment.

"We should get back to the others." he said moving away from the table and heading for the door.

"Yeah." she agreed, joining him.

Kyoya locked the door of the VIP house and falling into step with Reika as they both headed back to the main pool.

"It seems you didn't have to bring a swimsuit after all." he commented, breaking the silence.

"Apparently the twins thought ahead." she said.

"It looks…" he said, willing himself to continue while staring straight ahead. "Good, on you. It's a nice color too."

Reika smiled at the compliment, and his flush attitude. "Thank you," she said. "There were some atrocious choices the maids tried to get me to wear." she said, she could practically hear Kyoya trying very hard not to blush. "I guess the twins had something to do with that."

"I told you they can be quite devilish." he said, faking a smile. While inside, he was plotting their deaths. "Atlas, I am glad you were above their influence."

"I guess, but I am still in a swimsuit." she said stopping for a minute and untying her wrap from around her waist. He looked, stopping too. His right eye twitched slightly at the sight of her bare legs. "But at least I found this wrap." she said tying it back up, holding in a giggle.

"Yes, that was smart." he said regaining his composure as they started walking again, and they neared the main pool.

They arrived as the twins started a water gun fight with Tamaki - who was really getting into it.

Reika excused herself from Kyoya and went to talk to Haruhi. "So, what did I miss?" she asked.

"Renge showed up, cosplaying." Haruhi said sipping her drink. "Apparently, Honey felt threatened by Shiro, so he is upping his cute factor."

"Okay." Reika said, like that completely made sense.

They watched Honey play in the current pool, as Mori made their way over to them getting water out of his ears.

"Taking a break, hm?" Haruhi said. "You want something to drink?" she said offering her drink.

"Yeah, thanks." Mori said, taking the drink.

Reika turned her attention to Tamaki and the twins' water gun fight. Somehow, Tamaki managed to slip on a banana peel that was on the floor of the pool, and went head first into one of the totem poles. Whose eyes started to light up in a red, menacing way.

_Wasn't this suppose to be a relaxing place? _Reika asked herself.

Suddenly, all eyes shifted to Honey on the current pool, as they saw a massive wave heading towards him. Once it hit, Honey's cute floaty was in the air, everyone was running to the pool as Honey was swept away.

Haruhi and Mori ran as fast as they could, but Mori slipped on a banana peel.

_What is it with this place and banana peels? _Reika asked herself as she stopped running, and helping Mori up.

"Gentlemen, we are going after Honey-senpai!" Tamaki announced, looking at a near by pool. "That pool look like the quickest way. Charge!"

They all began to run, but Kyoya held on to Reika's arm. "Wait, I wouldn't go-" he was cut off by the rising alligators. Reika gave Kyoya a grateful look.

The boys and Haruhi all ran back. "There are alligators in there!" they said.

"Okay!" Tamaki announced again. "So we can't use that pool. Then lets try this one next." he pointed to side.

"They're here too!" the twins said, trying to avoid the alligators.

"And here." Haruhi said, looking at the alligator she almost stepped on. "What's with all the alligators?" Haruhi asked.

"Beats me." Tamaki said.

Kyoya was calmly leaning against a palm tree, writing in his notebook. "Those alligators belong to the park's tropical animals exhibit." he said. "I guess it is kind of dangerous to let them run wild, though the cause of our present situation seems to be the location for the current pool. I'll have to have a chat with our designers." he said closing his notebook and flashing his friends a smile. "Thanks a lot, you guys. I got some great data today."

"You what?" they all said outraged, except for Mori, who didn't speak at all.

"This is was the theme parks first trial run." Kyoya explained. They gave him death looks. "What? Reika knew, it wasn't just me who thought this was a good idea."

"You let him make guinea pigs out of us?" the twins asked her.

"I thought the theme park had been vetted before." Reika said in her defense.

"A little tip," Tamaki said to her. "Always get to know every detail of Kyoya's plan before you agree with it."

"Sorry, next time." Reika said. "But now we should really find a map and figure out where Honey-senpai could have ended up."

They moved to the map of the theme park, where Kyoya explained where they were and were he thought Honey might be. The map had a lot of undeveloped areas with unknown types of animals or possible dangers that even Kyoya didn't know.

They walked into a forest, that reminded Reika of the time her family visited the Amazon forest while on one of their inspection of their Brazilian divisions.

"Wow, this place is just like a real jungle, hm." Tamaki commented, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, and I keep hearing all of these strange animal calls." Haruhi said.

"You don't think all of those animal sounds," one twin began. "Could be the real thing, do you?" the other finished.

"To be honest, I'm not sure." Kyoya said. "But I do know that my family always strives for authenticity, whatever the cost."

They went back to walking in silence, until Mori slipped on another banana peel.

"What is it with this place and banana peels." Reika murmured to herself.

"Mori-senpai is," one twin began, "Acting as clumsy as you do boss." the other finished, getting a very funny reaction out of Tamaki.

"Shut up." Tamaki said to the twins.

Mori sat up just as the lights dimmed and the sounds of a storm began to come towards them. Kyoya looked at his watch.

"Uh-oh," Kyoya said. "It's about time for the squall."

"Hmm?" the twins said confused as they looked up.

"You mean it's going to rain?" Reika asked him.

"Yes." Kyoya said.

"Is there a off switch for that somewhere?" she asked him.

He tossed her the keys to the VIP house. "The control center is in the basement, you know how to get there?"

"Yeah," she said. "Find them some shelter until I turn it off."

"There is a traditional tropical house near by, I'll lead them there." he said.

"Good." she replied, taking off her wrap and offering it to him. "Take this, keep it dry for me."

"Sure." he said, though he was trying to look anywhere but at her.

"Thanks, it shouldn't be long." she said putting the key ring around her finger before she took off running.

She ran through the forest, avoiding banana peels and branches as the rain started to pour more and more. She got a little lost when it came to finding the house, when she did find the house she tried her best not to soak the house.

When Reika got to the basement, she saw panels and panels of switches, levers, and buttons. She sighed as she sat down on the black computer desk chair and slid her way over to the controls.

"Of course this won't be simple." she said to herself as she found the controls of the tropical forest, and found the switch labeled 'Rain'.

She ran back to the forest and found the structure that her friends were waiting. It was still raining a little from the water was still in the pipes.

"Got it." she said to Kyoya as she twisted the water out of her braid. She was going to give Kyoya back his keys, but he was busy on the phone. She found her wrap on the railing and wrapped it over shoulders for warmth and to dry herself a little.

"Where are Haruhi and Mori-senpai?" she asked the twins who were harassing Tamaki.

"What?" they said stopping their teasing.

Reika, Tamaki, and the twins looked around for Haruhi and Mori concerned. Kyoya got off his phone.

"My family's private police force is going to send in a search and rescue team to help us. They are better equipped to find Honey-senpai than we are. So let's just go back to the gate and wait there." Kyoya said looking around. "Hey, where are Mori-senpai and Haruhi?"

"That's what I would like to know." Reika said. "Are you sure you didn't lose them when you came here?"

"No, we all here." Tamaki said. "Where could they have gone?"

"They are probably looking for Honey-senpai." the twins said, unbothered.

"What?" Tamaki said grabbing on to both their shirts. "You mean my little girl is all alone in this dark and creepy forest with no one to help her?!"

"She isn't alone, she has Mori-senpai to help her." Reika tried to reassure him, even though his reference to Haruhi - a girl he clearly liked - as his daughter was very creepy. "He'll keep her safe, let's go to the gate and wait for the search and rescue team."

"Okay, you're right." Tamaki said, cooling down a little.

Together they started walking back when Kyoya fell into step with Reika.

"Here are your keys back." she said handing him back the VIP house keys.

"Thank you for shutting it down." he said.

"No problem." she said.

"You ran in the rain, you must be cold." he said. "When we get back you should take a warm shower to prevent getting sick."

"I'll be okay." she said, smiling at his concern.

The twins who were behind them, hearing everything, gave each other shocked looks that soon morphed into devilish ones. They all continued to walk in silence.

"You know," Kyoya said, suddenly stopping and looking back. "I don't think I mentioned to them that there were other visitors here."

"What!" Reika's eyes widened at his words. "You didn't tell them, what about Haruhi and Mori-senpai."

"I'm sure they'll be fine." Kyoya said, waving it off.

"Did you tell them that you were looking for a small boy?" she asked him.

"Yes." he said.

"Did you think of telling them that Honey has blond hair?"

"No."

"Then what makes you think they won't mistake Haruhi for a small boy and Mori-senpai as the perpetrator?"

"Reika, please. What are the odds of that?"

"Fine, but if it does happen, I get to tell you I told you so." Reika said.

"Okay." Kyoya said as they started walking again.

"What were you guys talking about?" Tamaki asked.

"Kyoya didn't mention there were other visitors here, so I told him that they could mistake who Mori-senpai and Haruhi really are." Reika explained.

Tamaki started shaking Kyoya. "You didn't tell them that Haruhi was out there, they could hurt her." he said with a crazy looks in his eyes.

"And Mori-senpai, don't forget about him." the twins said.

"We have to go find her!" Takami announced before running back into the forest.

"Them!" the twins corrected him as they started following Tamaki.

Reika and Kyoya looked at each other and shrugged, following them.

They heard fighting noises. "This way!" Tamaki said.

When they reached Haruhi and Mori, Honey was also with them along with the search and rescue team all unconscious.

"Haruhi!" Tamaki screamed joyfully. "Haruhi, are you alright?"

"Hey, it's Tama-chan!" Honey said happily.

"Oh, wow." Hikaru said to Honey. "Are you okay senpai?"

They were interrupted by a frantic Tamaki who was crying and running towards Haruhi. "Haruhi!" Tamaki said before he hugged her from behind. "I was so worried."

The twins poked the unconscious search and rescue men. "I'm not sure what happened here. But at least they're still alive." Kaoru said.

"It's pretty impressive that this is Honey-senpai's work." Hikaru said. "He must have really been holding back."

"Hmm?" Haruhi said confused, as she pinched Tamaki in the hand causing him to let go of her. "What do you mean holding back?"

"So then," Hikaru began. "You don't know about Honey-senpai?" Kaoru finished, as the boys launched into the history of Honey's family and martial arts ability, as well as Mori's.

"So how were you able to find us, Honey-senpai?" Hikaru asked.

"It wasn't hard," Honey said. "It didn't take me long to reach the end of the current pool so I decide to go looking for you guys."

"We humbly apologize." one of the men in the Ootori's secret police said. As they regained consciousness they began bowing to Honey and offering their sincere apologies.

After Honey dismissed his fans, also known as the secret policemen that he beat up, he turned to Mori.

"We should go the beach nearby." Honey suggested to the others in his usual optimistic tone.

"That's a great idea." the twins agreed.

"Why not?" Haruhi said as Tamaki quickly agreed too.

They walked out of the forest and into the main area, Reika was just behind Haruhi when she was pulled aside by Kyoya.

"Aren't we going to the beach?" she asked him. Making everyone turn to look at them.

"Not until we get you out of those wet clothes." he said, starting to pull her to the VIP house.

"'We'?" the twins said to each with suggestion in their eyes. Tamaki looked outraged and the rest simply ignored.

"That's not what I meant." Kyoya said in his normal tone as he stopped and pinched the bridge of his nose as he looked up.

"Then what did you mean?" Tamaki asked pointing fingers. Everyone knew how he was with unexpected changes to his 'family' dynamic.

"Simply that she will catch a cold in her wet clothes and she needs a warm shower to prevent that." Kyoya answered as he continued to pull her.

"I still don't understand," Kaoru started. "Why she would need your help." Hikaru finished. "She's capable of taking a shower by herself." they said together.

Kyoya stopped again, pondering something. "That's true," he said. He handed Reika his keys again. "Don't forget to lock up, I will have one of the employees leave you some clothes."

"Thanks." she said, turning away from the rest of them. They started walking away too. Then Reika stopped. "One more thing." she said remembering.

"What?" Kyoya asked turning around as the others did too.

"I told you so!" she said walked up to him and poked the tip of his nose gently.

Kyoya gave her a shocked expression as the twins and Tamaki laughed. Haruhi, Honey, and Mori just looked at each other, wondering what they missed.

Reika laughed to herself as she walked away.


	5. The Awkward Trial Run!

**Chapter Five**

_The Awkward Trial Run!/The Sun, the Sea, and the Host Club!_

* * *

It was an hour or so before dinner. Everyone was doing something. Haruhi was with the twins, she was still mad at Tamaki for being mad at her. Mori and Honey were off playing in the sand, or something like that. Kyoya was sending apologetic flowers to the Club's clients. Tamaki was sulking in a dark room somewhere. Which left Reika by herself, she could have chosen anyone to hang out with, but they all their own problems to figure out.

She was exploring the Ootori Beach Villa, absentmindedly trying to sort out all that happened that day. She was nearing the dining hall when something, someone, snatched her from the hallway and into the dark room.

It was hard to see, though it was impossible to mistake who the tall boy with glasses was. "Kyoya, what's going on?" she asked him.

"Shh, I'm trying something." he said. "Are you okay with that?"

Reika shrugged, it wasn't the first time he tried something on her before he showed it to anyone else. New Host Club products, strategic plans, even spyware. She was used to it.

"Sure." she said.

"Good." he said simply before pushing her against the wall and pinned her wrists with his hands above her head.

Her eyes widened and her mouth opened in shock. "Woah." she said, a little bit dazed. "That's different."

"Was that scary?" he asked her leaning close to her so he could see her reaction.

"More like surprising." she said trying to recompose herself, thankfully, it was too dark to see her blush. "What are you trying to do-?"

The question died away once he rapidly threw her on his bed and straddled her, still holding her hands away from her, only this time his absent minded fingers intertwined in with her's.

"How about now?" he asked.

"Kyoya, what are you trying to do?" she asked trying to understand and down play how nervous she was feeling.

"Scare a girl into noticing how defenseless she really is." he explained, leaning away from her face.

The pieces all fell into place, and Reika understood what he was trying to prove to Haruhi that she can't always protect herself. Though she was slightly concerned about her friend, she knew this was necessary. Something in her relaxed, but also got a whole lot more nervous.

"Why didn't you just say that." she said her body visibly relaxed.

"I needed authenticity of your emotions and expressions." he said.

She rolled her eyes at him. "So you're just going to throw her into bed and straddle her?" she asked.

"I think, from your reaction, it was more successful than the wall." he said even toned.

"It was, and it's also more in-character with you." she said with the same tone he used. "But I don't think, this," she said moving their intertwined finger. "Qualifies as scary."

"Right," he said letting go of her hands and placing them on the mattress.

"Now that I'm in on this, we can do this right." she said sitting up a little and resting her weight on her elbows. "How scary do you want it to be?"

"The most amount of bark, with the least amount of bite." he said.

"Alright, let's start this over." she said. She sitting up completely, waiting for him to get off her. He was taken aback by their closeness so it took him a while to get the hint.

"Okay, what now?" he asked once they were both standing.

"How are you planning for her to come here?" she asked. "I hope you don't plan on grabbing her like you grabbed me."

"Don't be ridiculous." he said. "I have a plan to get her running into the bathroom."

"Good." she said. "And then?"

"She will apologize and I will tell her how much money I spent on rectifying the situation." he said, it was strange for him, to tell people his plans. "She will offer to pay me back."

"What words are you going to use?" she asked.

"You can pay me with your body." he said.

Reika's face changed, to amused and she started to laugh. "I hope you have a very good conviction face, because that sounds so funny coming from you." she said trying to hide her laughter. She recomposed herself.

Kyoya didn't like the teasing he was getting from his assistant. He decided to show her just how good his conviction face could be. His left hand leaned against the wall as he closed the distance between them. Reika involuntarily shrunk back into the wall as an ill-conceived idea that it would help.

"You can pay me with your body." he said in a low and huskily tone of voice.

Reika's eyes widened as she felt shivers go up her spine. "Then?" she squeaked, trying to cover up the situation, but it just made Kyoya smirk at her as he pushed himself off the wall so they could continue to go over his plan.

"I will grab her wrists and throw her onto my bed." he said.

"Okay, show me." she said. He looked at her, wondering if she was serious. "Come on."

He grabbed her wrists like before and threw her onto the bed. He straddled her, looking down to see her reaction.

Even though she knew it was coming, she was still shocked. She breathed in deeply, her chest rising and falling. "And then what?" she asked.

"She'll scream." he said.

"You don't know that." she said, her looked shifted into concern, as she tried to raise her self onto her elbows again but his hold on her wrists kept her down. "If she does scream and the boys come to rescue her, they'll get the wrong idea."

"That's why I have you." he said. "You know exactly what I'm planning."

"I could stop you." she said.

"You won't." he said.

She tried to move her wrist again and he still didn't let her. She moved herself as best she could to be face to face with him. "What makes you so sure?" she asked raising an eyebrow.

"I know you." he said.

"No, you don't." she said shaking her head slightly, teasing him. "Not like everyone else you know, and it's driving you crazy."

"Why would it?"

"Because you're a control-freak."

"And you're not?"

"Oh, I am. I never get into a situation I can't get myself out of."

"Even this one?"

"Yes."

"How?" Kyoya gave her a smirk, challenging her.

She laid back on the bed with a smile on her face. "You left my hips free, that was a bad idea." she said, wiggling her hips. She folded her right leg, so her knee was in between them. "I can can kick you here." she stopped just between his legs. "Or here." her knee was just above his kidney before she brought it back down to the bed. "When adrenaline is an unpredictable force, just imagine the damage I could cause, it would be more than enough to be set free."

"And if I did this?" he said, sitting on her hips, putting most of his weight on his bent legs, there was no gap between them.

"I could still get out." she said.

"Try," he challenged her. She struggled, tried her wrist, and she couldn't move. Something inside her told her to run - scream even - but she just laid back down, staring straight at him. "Are you scared now?" he asked smiling.

"Should I be?" she asked him raising an eyebrow, bringing her face as closer to his with every syllable.

He chose not to answer that question. "Now that I've got you pinned down." he said, smiling at his joke, she gave him a sour smile at his change of subject. "Who are you?"

Just as Reika was about to come up with a witty retort, the door of Kyoya's room opened. "Mommy, it's time for dinner." Tamaki said cheerfully, the light of the hallway illuminated their faces. Tamaki's smile faded into pure bewilderment. His eyes were wide and his jaw was on the floor, his mind couldn't even process what he was seeing.

"Tell anyone and I'll kill you!" Kyoya and Reika said simultaneously with animosity in their eyes that could actually kill.

Tamaki couldn't run from the room fast enough, and he was smart enough to close the door behind him as he fled.

"What's wrong Tama-chan?" Honey asked, he and Mori had just returned from the beach.

"So many things." Tamaki said rocking himself in a corner with his feet. "So many things." he echoed again and again.

Honey and Mori just looked at each other and shrugged, walking away to the dining room.

Meanwhile, back in Kyoya's room, Kyoya was awkwardly getting off of Reika and the bed. They couldn't bare looking at each other without feeling awkward. The awkward feeling remained for about a minute or two more before Kyoya decided to speak.

"We should probably go." He said, his normal voice returning.

"Yeah." Reika said getting off the bed and fixing her hair after being thrown around. They stood side by side, staring at the door they knew they had to cross at some point. "I hope I was able to help you."

"You were," he said, looking at her. The awkwardness of the room fading away. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." she said looking back at him and smiling. She walked towards the door and left the room with Kyoya right behind her.

A few feet away, Haruhi and the twins rounded corner, watching Reika and Kyoya exit his room.

"What was Reika-senpai doing in Kyoya-senpai's room?" Kaoru asked his companions.

"He was probably going over more Host Club merchandise with her." Haruhi said. "She is his assistant."

"That's true." Hikaru said. "I've never seen him spend that much time with a girl unless it was for business."

"Maybe they're secretly dating." Kaoru said shrugging.

"What?" his brother said amused. "Could you imagine Kyoya-senpai with a girlfriend?"

The twins and Haruhi laughed together at the thought of Kyoya and Reika in a romantic relationship together, all the way into the dining room.

"What are you guys laughing about?" Honey asked with a smile.

"The idea of Reika-senpai and Kyoya-senpai in a romantic relationship." Hikaru said.

Everyone laughed along, except for Tamaki, who felt torn between telling his friends what he saw only minutes ago, or his life. Unlucky for him, Kyoya knew his friend all too well.

"That's ridiculous. Isn't it, Tamaki?" he said smiling, giving his friend his best I-am-going-to-kill-you-if-you-don't-agree-with-me internal look.

"Yeah," Tamaki laughed uneasy. "It's impossible."

Kyoya beamed with self-accomplishment, while Reika felt a little bad about putting the fear of God into Tamaki for witnessing their little trial run.

"Well," Honey said, rubbing his hands together. "Let's eat, the crab looks great."

Everyone agreed and dug in, some more than others - Haruhi. Before she was even done, she managed to piss off Tamaki enough into leaving the dinner table without finishing his dinner.

"Kyoya, would you show me to my room, please?" Tamaki said leaving the dining room.

"No problem," Kyoya said wiping his mouth with his napkin. "Well, excuse me everyone." he said leaving and giving Reika his best, it's-on look. Reika gave him a reassuring smile, though she had no idea what was going to happen next, she was looking forward to it.

"Maybe he's right." Haruhi said, putting down her crab leg. "Maybe I do need to learn a way to protect myself."

"So that's it. He got to you, huh." the twins said in their usual unity.

"Well, it wouldn't hurt you learn martial arts or something." Hikaru said. "Even Reika trains with Mori-senpai and Kyoya-senpai."

"But it's not like we are going to force you to learn it." Kaoru said.

"Besides, that's not the real issue here." the twins finished together. Haruhi gave the twins a confused look.

"To be honest, we were all a little worried about how recklessly you acted." Hikaru said.

"What do you mean?" Haruhi asked. "I didn't cause you guys any trouble, or anything."

The twins sighed. "That's not true, Haru-chan." Honey said. "I think you should apologize. 'Kay?" he asked with his sweet smile. "You made us all worry, especially Tama-chan. I think you should apologize to him the most."

"So you were worried about me?" Haruhi asked. "But why?"

Everyone sighed, except for Mori who just kept eating undisturbed.

"You're hopeless." the twins said.

"You think?" Haruhi said aspirated.

"You are our friend, Haruhi." Reika said. "Of course we are going to worry about you. Just like you would if any of us were in trouble."

"You're right," Haruhi said sighing. "Guys, I'm really sorry."

The twins and Honey hugged Haruhi, and Reika joined them. Mori was still too busy with his food. Suddenly, mid-hug, Haruhi started to look very sick. Reika's eyes widened as she ushered Haruhi to the nearest bathroom, which, of course, just happened to be in Kyoya's room.

Once she shut the door she realized what she had done, and was once again, impressed with Kyoya's plans. She touched her forehead to the closed door and laughed softly to herself.

The rest of the boys came out of the dining room giving Reika concerned looks. "She's going to be a while." Reika said as she let go of the door, and rubbing her hands together. "Let's try to salvage this meal while Haruhi cleans herself up."

Mori, more than others, agreed with her. They all returned to the dining room and Reika hoped that Kyoya was wrong about the end of his plan. She wasn't worried though, Haruhi was a smart girl, she was sure to figure out what Kyoya was doing.

About fifteen minutes later, Reika was in the kitchen looking for something to eat. The servants had all left when they served dessert ten minutes ago. She was alone in the dark kitchen looking into the fridge.

Kyoya had just left Tamaki with Haruhi in his room, and felt that they would be there a while. In the dining room the rest of the Host Club boys were enjoying their dessert. He headed into the kitchen, hoping to find some quiet and a water bottle.

He found Reika instead, her head sticking into the fridge as she pulled out a soda can, oblivious to his entrance.

"Didn't you just eat dinner?" he asked her, making her jump as she roughly slammed the fridge door.

"Jeez, Kyoya." she said one hand hugging the soda to her chest and the other on her forehead as she sighed. "Don't sneak up on people."

"Why?" he asked amused. "Your reaction is always so amusing."

"I'm glad I could entertain you," she said sarcastically as she put the soda on the counter and sat down. "Are you joining me?"

Kyoya nodded, sitting on the stool opposite hers on the counter. "I didn't eat much of my dinner, what's your excuse?"

"Seeing crab shoot back up your best friend's mouth makes you regret their taste." she said shivering.

He smiled. "Yes, sorry about that." he said, standing up and getting a water bottle. "But good job leading her to the my room." he set his water bottle on the table before producing an ice cream tub from the freezer. He presented it to Reika, who nodded.

"I confess, that was completely unplanned." she said finding spoons on the first drawer she looked. She gave one to Kyoya as he opened the ice cream carton. "Otherwise I would not have let you go through with your plan."

He rolled his eyes at her, thankful she couldn't see it. "It would've happened one way or another." he said before eating the first spoonful.

"So you're saying I was useless?" she asked him, licking her spoon, baiting him.

"Not entirely, I would have needed your help if Haruhi had screamed." he said.

"I'm glad she figured it out."

"How do you know she did?"

"She didn't scream, you didn't need to explain anything to anyone."

"I think I might have to explain some things to Tamaki."

"Why? Did he catch you? Again." she asked, teasing.

"Yes." he replied. "I just hope he doesn't think I'm luring girls into my room."

"You kind of are." she told him, recalling him pulling her into his room and his plan to get Haruhi to his room.

"But I don't do anything to them." he said.

"No, you just throw them onto your bed and straddle them." she said cheekily. "Twice on my case."

"And while other men might take advantage of that moment, I didn't." he said.

"So no part of you thought about the possibility of Haruhi taking up on your offer to 'pay you back with her body.'" Reika asked him, ice cream forgotten as she subconsciously leaned closer to him. She looked him up and down. "You are, for all intents and purposes, a good guy all around. How did you know she didn't have crush on you? Better yet, how did you know I didn't have a crush on you?"

Kyoya had stopped eating long before Reika's leaning blocked his way to the ice cream carton. He was staring at her, listening to her words, intently. He didn't even notice the ice cream on his spoon melting, seconds away from dripping on his shirt.

"We have the same homeroom, we work together, and we spend quite a lot of time in that room. Alone. With no one to interrupt us." she kept her voice serious, but both of them knew she was just teasing him, seeing how far he could take.

He was so shocked by the actual truth in her words that he froze, not knowing what to say. That is, until the ice cream started to drip. With only a few cold drops, Kyoya jumped like a cat and the entire spoon of ice cream fell on his shirt.

"Shoot," he said getting off his stool, his thoughts slightly off. "This is going to stain."

Reika was too busy covering up her giggles with her hands to truly appreciate what was going on. Kyoya took of his shirt and started to run water on the ice cream spills, still thinking ice cream could stain. When her giggles stopped she was shocked at the sight of her 'boss' without a shirt. This is Kyoya we are talking about, he never takes off his shirt. Not at the theme park, not at the beach.

When he was done getting ice cream off of his shirt he turned off the faucet. "Reika, can you go into my room and get me another shirt?" he asked her, she didn't respond. "Reika?" he asked again, turning around and finding her staring at him. "What is it?"

"Oh, nothing." Reika said shaking her decorum back into place as she jumped off her stool. "I just never seen you without a shirt, that's all."

Kyoya's eyes narrowed, confused. "Why are you being so honest?" he asked her.

"Because you asked me a question," she said. "Why? Did you want me to lie?"

"No." he said. "It's just odd."

"Okay, well, I'll go get you that shirt." she said leaving the kitchen with Kyoya staring after her.

"Before you go," he said to her, looking down trying not to blush. "Your thoughts?"

"Not bad, boss." she told him biting her lip and looking him up and down, trying to keep a confident facade. She kicked the kitchen door open. "Not bad at all." she added as she backed away from the room.

Kyoya smiled to himself, pleased, as he returned his attention to his shirt.

Reika walked out of the kitchen the same time the twins walked out of the dining room.

"Hey, Reika-senpai." they said.

"Hi, guys." she said.

"Have you seen Kyoya-senpai?" Kaoru asked.

"Yeah, he's in the kitchen." she said. "I have to go get him another shirt."

"What happened to his shirt?" the twins asked looking at each other.

"Just an accident with the ice cream." she said.

"Were you guys trying to make ice cream as a new product for the Host Club?" Hikaru asked puzzled.

"No," Reika said. "We were just eating it, talking a little. We do more than just talk about work, you know."

"Really?" the twins said surprised. "What do you guys talk about?"

"You know, this and that." she said shrugging. "Normal stuff."

"So you're like his girlfriend?" Kaoru asked.

"No, why would I be his girlfriend?" she said. "Guys and girls can be friends too, you know. Like you guys are with Haruhi."

"I guess." they said together, pensively.

"We've just never seen Kyoya-senpai talk to an actual girl unless it was about Host Club business." Kaoru said.

"What are you guys talking about? He talks to Haruhi all the time." she said.

"Yeah, but he's usually either explaining things to her or teasing her about her debt." Hikaru said.

"And that counts as Host Club business." they said together.

"Maybe, I don't know." she said shrugging again. "He's not a bad guy once you get to know him."

"Do you have a crush on him?" the twins inquired with their devilish looks.

Reika was surprised at the question at first, but quickly got over it. "My dear twins, I know you love to cause chaos in every awake, which is why I refuse to answer your question." she said in diplomacy mode, patting them both on the back. "I, however, need to get Kyoya that shirt."

"No need." Kyoya said as he was exiting the kitchen. "I was able to dry it while you were out here."

"Oh, good." she said. "Then why did you ask me to go get you a shirt if you know you could dry it?"

"I wasn't going to dry it at first, but then I remembered that Tamaki and Haruhi were using my room." Kyoya said. "Best not to interrupt them."

"Why are they doing in your room?" the twins asked.

"Hopefully, Haruhi is apologizing to Tamaki." Kyoya said.

"That's good." the twins said.

"We should check on them in a few minutes," Kyoya said looking at his watch. "Make sure they actually apologized and didn't kill each other."

"How about a card game?" Reika suggested.

"Yes, we should ask Honey-senpai and Mori-senpai to play with us." Kyoya said as they all re-entered the dining room to play cards.

After two long games that the twins won, it was nearly eleven o'clock and the twins were getting antsy over what happened to their friends.

"Are you sure it's a good idea," one twin began. "To leave the two of them alone?" the other finished.

"She's with our prince Tamaki." Kyoya said. "What could possibly go wrong."

All the remaining Host Club members looked at each other, and then, calmly stood up and rushed to check on Tamaki and Haruhi.

"Hey boss," the twins said as they knocked and opened the door to Kyoya's room. "We're coming in."

They were treated to the sight of Haruhi and Tamaki both seated on the floor, Haruhi had on a blindfold and Tamaki was in front of her, oblivious to the rest of the Host Club.

"With the blindfold you can't to see anything, and then the earplugs help muffle any sound." Tamaki said, which was very strange to the people at the bedroom door.

"Wow, yeah." Haruhi said. "You're right."

"You nasty pervert." Kaoru said, making Tamaki look back in shock because he really didn't realize he had an audience.

"What kind of foreplay is that?" Hikaru asked.

Tamaki was in shock, the poor boy couldn't even explain it properly. "It's not like that! It's not what you think!" he screamed. "We didn't do anything, not like those two did!" he pointed at Reika and Kyoya.

Kyoya and Reika's eyes shifted slightly to look at each other, trying very hard to not panic and not kill Tamaki. They both thanked the fact they were both on the back of the group.

"Oh, please." the twins said.

"What could the two of them had possibly done?" Hikaru said.

"They were probably doing something for the Host Club." Kaoru said. Reika and Kyoya both shrugged at each other, it was basically what they were doing.

"No, but they were-" Tamaki tried to explain it with his hands, but it just made everyone even more confused. "Him and her were-"

"What's going?" Haruhi interrupted him. "Tamaki, can take these things out?"

The twins helped get Haruhi get her two missing sense back. "Come on, Haruhi." they said. "Let's get you away from this S&amp;M pervert."

They started to take Haruhi out into the hallway. "I'm not an S&amp;M pervert!" he said trying to follow them.

"What's S&amp;M?" Haruhi asked the twins.

At breakfast the misunderstanding was settled, after Haruhi explained that Tamaki was just trying to help her. She explained to everyone except Tamaki, whom everyone enjoyed tormenting. It was fitting revenge in Kyoya's book, for his friend talking about him and Reika.

It was a good end for their beach day.

Until Reika started sneezing on the trip back home.


	6. The Sick Day In!

**CHAPTER 6**

_The Sick Day In!/A Challenge from Lobelia Girls' Academy!_

* * *

The one day that Reika had gotten sick, was the one day they needed her the most. At least it was, according to Tamaki.

Reika was lying in bed, comforter clutched tightly to her body and with every sneeze and cough the comforter was clutched tighter still. Hundreds of used tissues littered the floor that the maids hadn't bothered to clean yet because it would be filled again an hour later.

To say that Reika was feeling bad, would be an understatement. She had a pounding headache along to match her sore throat that made her cough every five minutes, and sneezing that made her headache all the more annoying.

She didn't know if it was night or day when he called her. All she knew by the time that she heard his voice on the other end was that she should not have answered her phone.

"Reika this is an emergency, you have to come to the Host Club!" Tamaki said to her over the phone.

"I can't," she said sneezing. "I'm sick."

"But you have to prevent Haruhi from leaving the Host Club!" he insisted.

"Why would she leave the Host Club?" she asked though she really didn't care at the moment.

"It all started when the Lobelia girls came into Music Room #3, they are kind of like us but…" Tamaki jumped into his retelling of the Lobelia girls and how they wanted Haruhi to join them. Reika had fallen asleep before he even finished his sentence. "...so take some aspirins and get over here!" he finished.

"Ahhh!" Reika woke up startled.

"Reika, did you fall asleep?" he asked her.

"No," was Reika's initial response but she sighed. "Yes. Look Tamaki, I'm really tired. I'm sure you and the Host Club can handle this. Haruhi is not leaving you."

"Who said anything about my little girl leaving me?!" he asked her with a bit more crazy in his voice than usual.

"Tamaki, Haruhi is not your little girl!" she said, a little fed up. "I know you have a hard time dealing with the fact that you are attracted to Haruhi, and you control your emotions by pretending you feel fatherly love towards instead of real love. So just tell her, and let me be sick in peace!"

"You are clearly sick if you think that a father's love is anything more than that. Truly sick, Reika Niigata!" Tamaki said angry and Reika sighed defeatedly, then his tone changed. "I hope you get better soon."

"Thank you." she said, about to hang up the phone.

"Get here as soon as you can!" he said to her. "We need you!"

Reika sighed one last time and hung up the phone, falling asleep instantly. But even in her dreams she could not escape Tamaki's words, they echoed in her dreams. She woke up with her hand on her phone as she dialed Kyoya's number.

"Ah, Reika." he greeted her. "Feeling better I hope. I would send you one of the Ootori special cold medication, but I don't know your address."

She rolled her eyes. "What can I say? My family values its privacy." she said.

"I know, it's not even on your school file." he said. Most people would be taken aback by that, found it creepy. To Reika and Kyoya, however, this was fun.

She smiled, shaking her head. "That's not why I called though, Tamaki said something about Haruhi quitting the Host Club?" she asked.

"Not quitting, leaving."

"Well, how come?"

"The Lobelia girls have taken an interest in Haruhi and demanded that she join them at their school."

"And is Haruhi considering this? It seems highly unlike her."

"She was rather upset that we auctioned off her mechanical pencil."

"I told you to get permission from her first!"

"And in all fairness I should have listened."

"Yeah, you should've."

"Doesn't matter now, it's sold." he said, pausing. "Are you coming?"

"I don't know." she said. "I'm feeling really sick."

"Just take some cold medicine." he told her.

"I can't." she said.

"Why not?" he asked intrigued.

"I get weird when I take cold medicine, and I don't need anyone seeing that." she confessed.

"It can't be that bad," he said. "And if I will prevent Haruhi from leaving, what's the harm?"

"Okay, fine." she said. "But if I do something weird, you're to blame."

"It's a price I'm willing to pay." he said.

"Good." she said getting up from her bed. "I'll see you in an hour or so."

"Bye." he said hanging up.

Reika walked out of her room and to the medicine cabinet in her mother's bathroom. She hadn't drunk cold medicine since she was a kid, but her mom still did. She took the recommended dose and waited.

Nothing seemed to happen, that was great news. Reika smiled as she made her way to her room. Then it kicked in, the feeling of doing anything and everything crazy popped into her head. Today she had one goal, and one goal only, stop those Lobelia girls.

She had a crazy look in her eyes as she raced down the stairs, taking all the servants by surprise.

"Did she...?" the butler asked.

"I think she did." the maid said. "God help whomever she is going after." the butler nodded in agreement with wide eyes, remembering the last time Ms. Niigata took cold medicine.

Reika was feeling drowsy yet her mind hadn't register that as she hopped on her scooter and left her house faster than she should have.

They say that driving while intoxicated is dangerous, well they clearly haven't seen Reika ride her scooter while medicated. Things seemed clearer than ever before and blurry all at once. Cars honked as red lights were ignored and the speed limit seemed nonexistent. All was a blur in between Reika's house until she reached Ouran Academy.

But she didn't stop in the parking lot like a normal person. No, right now Reika Niigata was not a normal person as she-by some miracle-got inside the school and rode her scooter all the way to Music Room #3, where her friends had gathered at a last resort to get Haruhi to stay.

They all looked at the girl that rode her scooter into school, in shock.

"Don't worry lovelies, Reika Niigata is here to save the day!" she announced to them as she parked her scooter and unbuckled the helmet off her head that she almost forgot she put on.

It would have been a perfect entrance-if Reika hadn't walked the opposite side where her actual friends were, to talk to statues.

"Is that," Kaoru began. "Really Reika-senpai?" Hikaru finished. "What happened to her?" they asked.

"The side affects of cold medicine bottles should really include that." Kyoya murmured to himself, as he smacked his forehead.

"Now Haruhi, Tamaki tells me that you want to leave the Host Club." Reika talked to the statue. "Well, I can't allow that. Haruhi, answer me."

"Should we tell Rei-chan that's a statue?" Honey asked the others as they all watched the bizarre scene unfold. "And that Haru-chan isn't even here yet."

"Haruhi!" Reika yelled at the statue. "Why won't you answer me?!" she began shaking the statue, realizing that it was immobile and had no arms she started to cry. "Did those Lobelia girls do this you? I will make them pay! Do you hear me?! Pay!"

"I would sure hate to be those Lobelia girls right now." Tamaki said, as Reika swore her vengeance.

"Should we do something before Rei-chan hurts somebody?" Honey asked concerned.

"Who could she possibly hurt?" Tamaki said.

"Reika has been training martial arts with Mori for weeks and she is crazy from cold medicine." Kyoya said. "I think she could do quite a lot of damage."

"And who are you?" Reika said turning her attention to the boys. "Are you the Lobelia girls that hurt my friend Haruhi?"

The boys looked at the potentially crazy girl in front of them, and remembered of their plan to keep Haruhi in the Host Club, they were dressed in scandalous clothes, like the Lobelia girls.

"Reika, it's us." Tamaki tried to convince Reika. "We're just dressed like girls."

"Or you're girls with Tamaki voices." Reika said, her logic making perfect sense in her head, but confusing to the boys. "Trying to escape my avenging fury."

"No, no. Of course not." Tamaki said, trying again, to convince her that they were not the Lobelia girls, while he should have been running out of the room. "See, I'm Tamaki. That's Honey-senpai, Mori-senpai-"

"Likely story," she said pouncing at them like a cat, only to be stopped by metal bars.

Kyoya, who had lowered the cage looked at his dumbfounded friends and said the only thing that made sense as Reika started shaking the bars with unnatural strength. "Run!" he yelled.

His friends followed as they rushed out of Music Room #3 and locked the door behind them, coming face to face with Haruhi.

"What are you guys doing?" she asked them, looking at their frightened looks.

"We didn't want you to leave, so we called in Reika. But she was sick and Kyoya convinced her to take some cold medicine even though she said it made her go crazy. We didn't listen and now she's trying to kill us." Tamaki rushed into his explanation.

"Okay…" Haruhi said. "And the dresses?"

"We were trying to make you stay by showing you we could be like the Lobelia girls." Tamaki explained more.

"You boys are useless." Benio, the leader of the Lobelia girls said.

Haruhi ignored them. "What's going on with Reika?" she asked reaching for the door knob.

"No, don't open it." The twins said. "She might have gotten free from the cage."

"You have locked a girl in a cage?!" Benio said outraged. "We must stop this at once, they are keeping another maiden captive."

They overpowered the boys and opened the doors, revealing Reika sitting in the cage in the middle of the room.

"Don't worry fellow sister, the Lobelia girls are here to save you." Benio said.

Reika's eyes opened wide as fury filled them as she had just forgotten for a minute who the Lobelia girls were.

"Kill the Lobelia girls! Kill the Lobelia girls! Kill the Lobelia girls!" Reika yelled as she rattled the cage, some bars almost coming off its hinges.

The girls ran out of there. "Yeah, keep her locked up, that's a good idea." they said with fear in their voice. "Come on maiden, let's leave this place."

"What?" Haruhi said. "I'm not going with you."

"What?" Benio said. "But we have everything a girl like you could need."

"I'm sorry, but your club is not for me." Haruhi said. "I think that the idea of a girls' school is great, and your views are very interesting but I came to this school with a goal and a plan for my future. So, while I appreciate your offer I really already knew that I was never going to leave Ouran Academy."

The Lobelia girls were silent, in shock. While the Host Club boys were happy that Haruhi had decided to stay.

"Haruhi!" Tamaki said excited, then something dawned on him. "Hold on, if you knew you weren't going to leave, then why did you act so angry yesterday?"

"How would you feel if stole something of yours without asking you?!" Haruhi said angrily at him. "I really liked that mechanical pencil, it was easy to write with!"

"I'm sorry," Tamaki said taken aback. "But I was nice, and offered my teddy bear pencil in return and you said you didn't want it."

"That's right and I still don't want it." Haruhi said.

"Hmm, Benio." one of the Lobelia girls said looking at the two.

"Yes, I know." Benio said looking at Haruhi and Tamaki. "We're not going to give up on you maiden. I sweat this to you, some day we will come and rescue you from this place, and when we do we'll abolish the Ouran Host Club!" she swore, leaving the Host Club slightly frightful. "Well, adieu."

And with that, they left with pirouettes all the way out the door. To come back months later, but we won't get into that.

"Okay…" Tamaki said as he watched the Lobelia girls disappear in the hallway. "Now what are we going to do about Reika?"

They opened the door slightly and peaked in, to find Reika calmly sitting in the cage, talking to an armchair near by.

"...and then I said, 'I told you so.' and poked him in the nose." Reika said laughing at the chair, thinking she was laughing with the chair. "I know, it's so funny, right?"

They closed the door. "Alright, she seems to have calmed down again." Tamaki said. "Now, no one say the L word and she won't remember it."

"Okay." the rest of the boys and Haruhi agreed as they filled into the room.

Reika's laughter stopped when she looked at the boys who were still dressed like girls. "Lobelia girls." she growled, making the boys jump as she climbed on the bars and started shaking them. "Kill the Lobelia girls! Kill them all!"

The boys screamed and ran to the changing to change back into their uniforms so Reika wouldn't kill them. They left Haruhi there, she seemed like the only person that Reika didn't want to kill.

"Hey, Reika." Haruhi said uneasily. "How are you?"

"Haruhi!" Reika said reaching for her friend and giving her a hug through the bars. "You're alive, and you have arms again!" that statement confused Haruhi. "I thought the Lobelia girls killed you."

"No, no, no." Haruhi said, reassuring her friend. "I'm okay, the Lobelia girls are gone."

"Oh, that's great news, so you're staying in the Host Club?" Reika asked letting go of Haruhi.

"Who said anything about me leaving?" Haruhi asked. "And I thought you were sick."

"I was very sick. But Kyoya convinced me to take cold medicine, I felt better immediately after it, so I ran over here to stop you from leaving." Reika said. "Now, when did I get in a cage?"

"Wait, you didn't notice?" Haruhi asked. "You've been here for at least twenty minutes."

"No, I pretty sure the cage hasn't been here all that long." Reika said. "Robert and I were having a great conversation before you got here." she said pointing to the chair. "Now Robert, introduce yourself, don't be shy."

"That's okay," Haruhi said. "I'm sure Robert is a great person."

"He is!" Reika said excitedly. "Now, can you get me out of this cage?"

"Yeah, sure." Haruhi said going over to the rope of the cage and cranking the pulley until she raised the cage a feet off the ground so Reika could slide underneath it.

"Thanks," Reika said dusting herself off.

"What are you doing?!" the twins yelled as they saw Reika get free from the cage. "Why did you let her out, Haruhi?"

"The Lobelia girls are gone, and apparently I have arms, so she got over it." Haruhi said.

"Are you feeling better, Reika-senpai?" Kaoru asked her.

"Yeah, sure." Reika said going over to the armchair. "Have you guys meet Robert?"

"Who's Robert?" Hikaru asked, sharing a concerned look with his brother.

"This is Robert," Reika said pointing to the chair. "Say hi, Robert."

"Oh, yeah, she's a pillar of sanity." Tamaki said sarcastically to Haruhi. "At least she doesn't want to kill us."

"Oh, why would I ever want to kill you, Tamaki?" Reika asked, patting his head.

"Because-" Tamaki began but stopped himself, there was no need to remind her. "Nevermind, are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, I think my fever has gone down. I don't know why I used to not drink cold medicine, it works so much faster this way, and nothing's wrong."

Kyoya gave the girl an amused smile. "Sure, nothing's wrong." he said acerbically in his calm tone. "We should really get you back home."

"No!" Reika yelled, running away from Kyoya. "I still have so much to do! Who wants to go unicorn hunting with me?" she asked while getting on her scooter and placing her helmet on her head.

The boys and Haruhi all ran to keep her from reaching it, though it was useless, she was really fast.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Haruhi asked.

"Yes, it will be fun!" Reika said.

"You might hurt yourself Rei-chan," Honey said. "You are not quite yourself."

"Please, I feel freer than ever."

"Freer is not a word." the twins said.

"It is now!" Reika said. "Who's coming with me?!"

"Kyoya, why aren't you stopping her?" Tamaki urged his friend.

Kyoya looked up from his watch and smiled. "Oh, she's not going anywhere." he said, Tamaki gave him a confused look.

"Let's ride my friends as we become legends in-" she didn't even finish her sentence as she collapsed on her scooter.

While everyone looked at Reika in shock, Kyoya smiled and went over to her. He unclipped the helmet from her head and picked her up. She was heavier than he thought, and in a weird way, it pleased him. Just another thing about her that wasn't quite like he thought.

"Can I put her in your bed?" he asked the small blonde boy.

"Of course you can, Kyo-cha." Honey said smiling, while everyone looked at Kyoya's display of affection.

Which surprised no one that it was done while Reika couldn't see it or appreciate it, however just this once, Kyoya miscalculated the risk. When he set her down on Honey's comfortable bed, she woke up for a minute.

"Thank you, Kyoya." she said sleepy to the boy sitting on the bed next to where she was lying. "If you want to send me home, the address is-"

Kyoya stopped her by putting his hand over her mouth, she was clearly still out of it. "No, no. You're tired, you wouldn't tell me otherwise." he said, because he didn't want their little game to stop just yet. "Besides, I want to find out for myself." he said smiling.

She smiled back. "Thanks. Kanto." she said as she drifted back to sleep.

Her calling him by the wrong name took him aback a little. _Who was Kanto?_ he asked himself. He sighed as he stood up from the bed.

"She's going to be out for a while." he said to the boys before turning to Haruhi. "Do you think you can take her home with you?"

"Yeah. Sure, senpai." Haruhi said, understanding.

"Good, I'll have my driver waiting to take you home." he said walking out of Music Room #3.

"I never seen," Hikaru started. "Kyoya care about anyone that much." Kaoru finished. "Do you think he likes her?" they asked the others.

They all shrugged. "This is Kyoya were talking about." Tamaki said. "Maybe he's just covering his bases in case she turns out to be someone important."

"I don't know," Haruhi said. "If he wanted to know who she is, he probably would have asked her now. She is kind of loopy from the cold medication."

"Loopy is putting it nicely." Tamaki said, remembering her death threats.

Reika yawned from the bed. "Guys, where am I?" she asked them.

They went to Reika's bedside. "You're at the Host Club." Haruhi answered her.

"Oh," Reika said with an understanding tone, not bothering to ask how she got there. "Did I go crazy?"

"Yeah, you could say that." the twins said.

"Well, don't tell me what I did." Reika said cutting them short. "I don't want to know. I told Kyoya that I shouldn't drink cold medicine."

"Yeah, next time, don't drink it." Tamaki said. "Please."

Reika laughed. "No problem." she said. "I learned I should never again drink cold medicine once I woke up in a room filled with feathers and ketchup, or at least I hope it was ketchup."

"Then why did you, Rei-chan?" Honey asked.

"Kyoya and Tamaki made it seem like it was the end of the world, and I didn't want to lose my best friend." Reika said.

"Oh, well thanks." Haruhi said smiling though she was surprised. "I never had a best friend before."

"Neither have I." Reika responded. "Now, you are staying, aren't you?"

"Of course," Haruhi said. "I don't I understand why they ever thought that I would leave."

"It's because they're boys. And stupid." Reika said, Haruhi laughed in agreement.

"Hey, we're not stupid!" Tamaki defended himself.

"You were dressed up like girls!" Haruhi said laughing at the image in her mind.

"What?!" Reika said surprised. "They were dressed as girls and I missed that?"

"Oh, trust us." the twins said. "You didn't miss it."

"Yeah, but I don't remember it." Reika said yawning. "Boy, this cold medicine really makes you sleepy."

"And other things." Tamaki added.

"I think I'm going to take a nap." Reika said yawning again.

Before she could lay back down, Kyoya walked back into Music Room #3. "It's all settled, let's go." he said to Haruhi. "Oh, Reika. You're awake, good."

"For the time being." she said yawning. "Where are you guys going?"

"We are going to Haruhi's house," Kyoya said even toned. "You're staying over."

"Really?" Reika asked Haruhi. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, it will be fun." Haruhi said smiling as she helped Reika up.

"Okay, sure." Reika said.

Reika, Kyoya, and Haruhi all waved goodbye to their remaining friends, when Reika saw her scooter. "Is that my scooter?" she asked them.

"Yes." Kyoya said. "I'll have someone drive it to Haruhi's house."

Reika didn't pay attention to the second part, all she was thinking was how it got here. "Oh, did I-please don't me I did." she said stressed.

"Okay, I won't tell you." Kyoya said while smiling to himself at her reaction, she face palmed as she refused to look at the bike while she left the room.

Everyone laughed at her reaction. One thing was certain, she would never drink cold medicine again and the world would be a safer place for it.

On the trip to Haruhi's house, Reika fell asleep, swaying from her upright position to the person on her left. Who just happened to be Kyoya.

He was uncertain what to do at first, but after seeing that Haruhi was busy looking out the window and wouldn't witness the act, he put his arm around Reika to keep her from falling over. Or at least, that was what he told himself. As for pulling her closer, he had no excuse for that.

When they arrived, Haruhi turned from the window to Kyoya, she hid a smile when she saw him holding Reika, and decided not to disturb them.

"I'll go tell my dad that Reika's spending the night," Haruhi said. "I'll let you wake her up."

"Sure." Kyoya said, slightly embarrassed to be caught in that position, not that he let it show. Haruhi hadn't waited for a response and was already out of the car. "Reika," Kyoya tried to nudge her awake. "We're here."

She stretched a little, realizing she was pressed against something that was soft and hard at the same time. Her eyes widened as she took in her position on the limo.

"S-sorry." she stuttered, getting off of Kyoya, who snaked his arm away from her before she realized.

"It's okay." he said. "You were tired."

"Yeah," she said sitting up, realizing something. "I should probably call Anita, she'll be worried."

"Who's Anita?" he asked.

"My maid." she said taking out her phone.

"What about your parents?"

"My mom's out of the country, won't be back for days."

"Oh." Kyoya said while Reika was busy with her phone call. He took in the information he had just acquired. No mention of a father, which meant her mother probably handled the business. Her unbothered tone sounded like she wasn't very fond of her mother who was probably out a lot.

"Yeah, I'll be fine getting home." Reika finished her phone call. "See you tomorrow."

"Who's Kanto?" Kyoya asked the question that had been on his mind.

Reika's eyes widened. "Where did you hear that name?" her voice sounded hurt. Like the name opened up a wound that didn't heal.

"You called me Kanto when you were falling asleep the second time." he said. "Is he your boyfriend?"

Reika laughed, far harder than she intended. "No, no. Of course not." she said laughing again. "Why? Were you jealous?"

"I just wanted to know where the name came from." he said in defense of himself.

"He was my brother." she said. "He always took care of me when I sick, probably why I said his name."

"Was?" Kyoya asked.

"Yeah, he passed away." Reika said giving him a sad smile and shrugging.

"Reika, I'm-" he started, she stopped him.

"No, it's fine." she said. "It happened almost four years ago."

There was a silence in the car, that no one knew how to end. Reika gave it a try anyway. She was looking straight ahead, not at Kyoya. "You remind me of him." she said.

"Why?" he asked, knowing this was a fragile subject.

"He was a complicated guy," she said tucking her hair behind her ear, still not looking at him. "No one understood him, or what he did. They saw what was in front of them, but not the big picture. If you stepped back a little, you saw all the amazing things he did, and just how good of a guy he really was."

"He sounds great, but I'm not like that." Kyoya said.

Reika finally looked at him. "Then I guess you have to take a step back and see it for yourself." she said, reaching for the door handle. "Because I see it, and I'm amazed." she said stepping out of the limo where Haruhi and her father were waiting for her.

Haruhi's father's hair was long and styled like a woman's but that didn't bother Reika at all, Haruhi had told her all about her father.

"You must be Reika Niigata, it's a pleasure to meet you." he said.

"You too, Mr. Fujioka." Reika said smiling.

"Haruhi tells me you're feeling a little under the weather," he said ushering her up to the Fujioka's apartment. "Well, my wife left us a recipe that should fix that."

"Just as long as it's not cold medicine." she said as they climbed the stairs.

"No, Haruhi told me that cold medicine was a bad idea." he said smiling.

"You have no idea." she said to him.

Meanwhile, Kyoya was giving Haruhi instructions of Reika's medicines. "She take this every two hours," he said. "And this one every six hours."

"Kyoya, don't you think you're overdoing it a little, her cold is almost over." Haruhi said.

"And we must prevent it from getting worse." he said. "Now, are you sure you can handle this? Because I can get one of my family's nurses to-"

"She's be okay, I promise." she interrupted him. "Now, go. Get some sleep."

"Alright, I will." he said, realizing that his emotions were getting the better of him. "But I want you to call me-"

"Just go!" she said, a little testy. "I told you she'll be fine! If there's a problem I promise I'll call you. Now I know why Tamaki calls you mommy."

"Fine." Kyoya said motioning for the driver to drive on.

Haruhi sighed. "Yep, he definitely likes her." she said to herself before going up to her apartment.


	7. A Day in the Life of Reika Niigata!

**Chapter 7**

_A Day in the Life of Reika Niigata!/A Day in the Life of the Fujioka Family!_

* * *

When Reika woke up the next morning it took her a while for the events of yesterday to catch up with her. She was in a different bed and feeling much better that she was feeling the past three days.

She got out bed and wandered out of the Haruhi's room and to the kitchen where she found Haruhi cooking.

"Good morning." Reika said.

"Good morning, Reika." Haruhi said turning around. "Are you feeling better."

"A lot." Reika said. "Cold medicine has horrible side affects, but it sure is affective."

"Kyoya wanted me to give you of these pills," Haruhi said, pointing at the weekly organizer of pills that elderlies use. "I would say you don't need them, but I'm pretty sure Kyoya would be able to sniff it out if you didn't."

Reika laughed. "Yeah." she said taking the container and looking at the Saturday box as Haruhi passed her a glass of water. Reika swallowed the three pills one by one. "What are you cooking?" she asked Haruhi when she swallowed all of them.

"Just breakfast." Haruhi said. "My dad is out until later, so it's just the two of us."

"Do you need any help?" Reika asked him.

"No, thank you." Haruhi said. "I'm almost done."

"Okay." Reika said, though she was anxious to make herself useful. "I'll set the table."

"You don't-" Haruhi started but Reika stopped her.

"You let me stay over, you're cooking breakfast." Reika said. "Let me do something to try to repay your kindness."

Haruhi was about to protest, yet she knew it would be futile. "The plates are on the left cabinet." she said.

"Thank you." Reika said as she reached for the plates and started setting up the table.

After a few minutes Haruhi was done making breakfast and place it on the table where she and Reika started eating silently.

"This is really good." Reika said to Haruhi.

"Thank you," Haruhi beamed. "It was my mother's recipe."

"Do you have any plans for today?" Reika asked.

"Not really." Haruhi said.

"Good." Reika said. "I need to go buy some clothes, since all I have is pajamas."

"Why don't you just go back home." Haruhi said withholding the urge to say to herself, "Rich people." because she knew Reika wasn't like the boys in the Host Club.

"My mother is coming back today, and I want to avoid her at all cost." Reika said groaning.

Haruhi knew almost nothing about Reika's mom, she sometimes thought it was selfish of Reika to treat her mother like that when Haruhi missed hers so much. Then Haruhi remembered, she didn't know anything about Reika's mom, she could be a horrible person for all she knew. And by the way that Reika referred to her mom, maybe she was.

"Do you want to come with me?" Reika asked Haruhi.

Haruhi thought for a minute. "Sure." she said.

"Great." Reika smiled.

They finished their breakfast and headed out. Haruhi was looking at bus schedules when they looked at Reika's scooter parked in front of Haruhi's building.

"Looks like Kyoya got here early." Reika said climbing on and putting on her helmet.

"I doubt that," Haruhi said as she climbed on behind, holding on to the back of the scooter. "He would have asked to see you. He probably had someone drop it off yesterday."

Reika caught Haruhi's hints, but chose to ignore it. "Yeah." she said simply as she started her scooter.

They drove off in direction of the center of the they arrived at the mall, a thought dawned on Haruhi.

"Do you even have any money?" she asked Reika while getting off the scooter.

"If you mean, did I think of bringing my wallet when I was under the influence of cold medicine? No." Reika said getting off of the scooter too.

"Then how are you going to pay?" Haruhi asked.

"Always be prepared." Reika told Haruhi as she opened the back compartment of her scooter and took out a pouch as she replaced it with her helmet. She opened the pouch, taking out various things (a first aid kit, water, and three granola bars), until she held up her credit card.

Haruhi gave her an impressed look. "Okay." she said nodding as they walked towards the mall doors.

They only spent a few hours on the mall, at first people gave Reika strange looks because she was wearing pajamas to the mall. At the first store Reika quickly bought an outfit and changed into it.

Haruhi was taken aback at her choice, she had never seen Reika in anything but her school uniform and the odd costumes the boys made her dress up in.

"What?" Reika asked when she saw that Haruhi was staring, as she subconsciously tried to find anything wrong with her clothes.

"I've never seen you in normal clothes before." Haruhi said. "You look so common."

"Well...thanks." Reika said. "What did you expect?"

"I don't know," Haruhi said. "Designer labels and extravagant clothes. Maybe something closer to Ouran Academy's uniform."

Reika laughed. "Not today." she said. "Today, I'm me. Not who someone wants me to be. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that I don't own clothes like that, but today, I don't need them."

Haruhi smiled and so did Reika. They kept on walked through the mall, Reika took Haruhi to all the stores that Haruhi had never dared walk into.

They dressed up in crazy clothes and laughed at themselves. The store workers would get angry but just as they were about to ask them to leave, Reika flashed them her credit card and the store workers would go back to smiling.

Haruhi had more fun than she thought she would have. Every time she came to the mall it was to look for bargains, she never had any fun like this before.

Reika was feeling something close to that. She never had a close friend since her parents decided she would have a happier childhood with she was away from people that only cared about her fortune. The kids her age she did meet that were homeschooled were either weird or snobbish. She was glad that she finally had a friend that she could have fun with.

"This is the most fun I've had in a long time." Reka said to Haruhi as they were eating lunch in the mall's food court.

"Me too." Haruhi said.

"No, seriously." Reika said. "I think you're the only friend that I've actually have had."

"I'm sure there were others." Haruhi said, she was a little bit intrigued about learning something from Reika's past.

"My parents homeschooled me to 'protect' me, all the people I met were either older or way older than me." Reika said. "There were a few kids that I would have joint classes with to socialize, but there was always something off about them."

"Like what?" Haruhi asked.

"There was this boy who was afraid of lights, this girl that tried manipulating everyone to fit her needs, and this other kid who talked through his computer because he was too shy." Reika said. "Not entirely people you can hang out with."

Haruhi nodded. "That must have been tough." she said. "Having no one to talk to."

"It wasn't so bad." Reika said shrugging. "The boy who was afraid of lights was nice once you got over the darkness, I think he's going to a school now. But we haven't really kept in touch-"

Reika's phone started to ring. "Who is it?" Haruhi asked. Both Reika and Haruhi looked at the caller ID and smiled. "Took him long enough." she said.

Reika rolled her eyes and opened her phone. "Hello." she said to the person on the other end.

"You certainly sound better." the unmistakable even tone of Kyoya said.

"Yes, thanks for noticing." she said. "Were you checking up on me?"

"Of course," he said, Reika raised an eyebrow waiting for him to explain himself, like she knew he would so she won't get the wrong idea. "B-because I-we need you back in the Host Club on Monday. There is quite a lot of work to be done."

She smiled at him excuse. "With the medicine you've given me, I think I'll be just fine." she said.

"Yes, they are the pride of the Ootori medicine empire." he said.

"I'm sure it is." she said, looking at Haruhi who was rolling her eyes at their conversation. Reika laughed to herself. "Thanks for checking up on me, but I can assure you that I'm doing great. Haruhi and I are hanging out now, and I don't want to be rude."

"Oh, yes. Of course." he said a little crestfallen but not enough for Reika to catch on to it. "I have some business to care of too."

"Then I'll talk to you latter." she said.

"Certainly." he said before hanging up.

Reika smiled and closed her phone. "Where to next?" she asked Haruhi.

Haruhi and Reika spent about an hour more at the mall, bugging the shopper helpers. When they got back to Haruhi's apartment it was nearly four.

Haruhi got off of Reika's scooter. "Here," Reika said passing Haruhi one of the bags of clothes Reika bought. "A 'thank-you' present."

"I can't accept this." Haruhi said, opening the bag and seeing some of the clothes that she tried on with Reika.

"I can give you three reasons to why you are going to accept it." Reika said getting off her scooter and taking off her helmet as Haruhi waited patiently. "One, they looked awesome on you. Two, take as a thank-you for all that you've done for me. And three, little mementos of the fun we had today."

"Okay, I'll accept it." Haruhi said smiling, she really did like those clothes.

"Good." Reika said getting back on her scooter. "I've got to go."

"I thought you didn't want to go home." Haruhi said.

"I have to face the monster at some point." Reika said putting on her helmet. "I'll call you later."

"Sure." Haruhi said. "Thanks for the clothes."

"You're welcome." Reika said starting her scooter. "Bye."

"Bye." Haruhi said as Reika drove off.

Reika sighed as she neared her house, she really didn't want to home. She prolonged her journey home as much as she reached the double door gate. The gate was tall and made of black steel, with the letters A and S beautifully sculptured on the columns.

The gates swung open as the security officers recognized Reika and her scooter. They nodded at her as she entered the 'front yard' of her house.

"Is there any chance you could hold off on telling my mother I arrived?" she asked them.

The guards smiled at her, it wasn't the first time she asked this of them. "I'm sure we can hold off on telling her for an hour or so." the man said.

"Thank you." Reika smiled warmly at them. She rode her scooter through the back of the house so her mother won't hear her coming. She parked it close to the garage and went off to the back of the house.

One of the greatest advantages of having such a large house was that you could hide from people you didn't want to see. Especially if those people were your family.

Reika walked the grounds of the Akita estate, Akita being her mother's maiden name. The house had belonged to her mother's parents, Sakuri Sasaki and Kanto Akita, who were now long gone. The estate was beautiful in many ways, but Reika thought it beautiful because of the memories she had in the place. Memories of how things were before the accident, when everything in her world was close to perfection.

She shuddered at that word, perfect. Now everything was far from that. She shook those thoughts away as she focused on the beauty. Sitting down by the lily pond as the sun started to set.

Such a beautiful moment ruined by the screeching she heard from the house. "Reika!" her mother yelled. "Reika!"

Reika sighed, getting up. She followed the screams to the living room. "Yes?" Reika said politely.

"Where have you been?" her mother asked. "I arrived early this morning and you were gone."

That had been the mother Reika used to know, she would have found her mother's worrying touching, but she knew her mother had her own agenda. The dinner with the Ootori being that agenda.

"I went shopping." Reika said. There was no need to bother her mother with the details that she was sick, she wouldn't care anyway.

"Then where are your bags?" her mother asked her, unconvinced.

"Here are your bags, Ms. Niigata." Anita said bringing Reika the bags she left outside by her scooter. Reika smiled, Anita always had the best timing.

"Thank you, Anita." Reika said, giving her mother a triumphant look. "You can put those in my bedroom."

"Of course, Ms. Niigata." Anita said, Reika gave the maid a grateful smile.

"Umph. I hope you didn't buy those clothes there." her mother said motioning to Reika's outfit. "I thought I taught you to have better style than that."

"Of course, mother." Reika said giving her mother a fake smile. "This are simply so I can better blend with the commoners." she lied, she loved her outfit.

"Good." her mother said. "Now, to the topic at hand." she said motioning Reika to her office. "As you know the dinner with the Ootori family is approaching."

"Yes." Reika said entering the office and sitting on the chair opposite her mother's.

"The Ootori family's private police, dubbed the Black Onion Squad, has done a lot of business with our company. Niigata Security services and sells mostly to South and North American private organizations. Now we are moving into an Asian market and the Black Union Squad, being one of our first clients we are hoping they can help us with the attack." Reika's mother spoke as though this was war, and in her head, it was.

"So we need to make a good impression on the Ootori family." Reika said, smiling to herself when she pictured Kyoya's face when he found out who she was.

"Exactly." her mother said. "We, are of course, in good standing with them being of such an old family in the business world. Yoshio Ootori will consider an alliance of marriage if he is still as smart as I remember him."

Her mother's last statement rings in her ears, her eyes widen. "Marriage?" she asks her mother, the shockwaves still hitting her.

"Of course, you are nearly nineteen." her mother said. _In two years._ Reika tells herself. "A perfect time to make a commitment." _Perfect for whom?_ "Now, don't look scared. Mine and your father's wedding was arranged by our parents, and I think it worked out well for our companies and both of us. Rest his soul."

Reika noticed her mother's pained expression for a just a second before it was replaced by the woman she has been for the past three years. She missed who her mom used to be. Tears threatened to show, she had to excuse herself before they began to fall.

"Excuse me, mother." she said. "I have some homework that needs to be done." she lied.

"Of course." her mother said excusing her.

Reika nearly ran out of her mother's office but kept her decorum even though tears were already falling. As soon as she closed the doors behind her, grateful her mother hadn't called for her attention again, she ran up the stairs to her room. The work staff saw, all of their angry glares turned to the office door.

The Akita house staff loved Reika, she was always thoughtful and grateful for them. They knew things weren't always like this, once the family was happy. Now most of the times that Reika spoke to the mistress of the house Reika either wanted to scream or cry, and that didn't sit too well with the staff. Not that they could do anything about it.

Reika locked the door of her room, even though she knew her mother wouldn't be bothering her again for a while. Reika hugged her pillow as she cried on her bed.

She cried because of who her mother turned into, she cried because she missed how things used to be, and she cried because she was going to be forced into a marriage. It didn't matter to her who she would marry, because she knew her mother would be paying more attention to his family and companies than to the actual person.

After a few minutes, the crying stopped. Reika pulled herself together, like she was used to doing.

"No more pity party." she told herself as she dried her tears. She tried to cheer herself up with hopeful fantasies. Maybe the man her mother would choose would be a good person. Maybe she would get to choose. Maybe her mother would see how she was acting and be back to her old self.

When that didn't work, she thought of the Host Club. Her friends and how much fun she was having with them. A smile returned to her face when she looked at the clothes that she bought this morning. The memories of her and Haruhi modeling the clothes made her laugh.

She stretched out on her bed as she reached for a book, feeling a lot better than she was feeling a few minutes ago.

Reika didn't even get through the first chapter when her phone began to ring. The caller ID was unknown.

"Hello?" Reika asked.

"I think I should be able to track your phone." Kyoya said on the other line.

Reika laughed. "Go ahead and try." she told him, unconvinced as she rolled her eyes. "Are you using equipment from your family's private security?"

"Yes." he said, not even surprised she knew. "Now you just have to stay on the line for a few more seconds."

"I can wait." she said. As a few seconds passed she heard Kyoya's muffled words of disappointment. "Did it work?"

"Of course it didn't." he said recomposing himself. "As you knew it wouldn't."

"Well, yeah." she said smiling at his annoyment. "Do you really think someone who doesn't have a school file, something so basic and yet so dangerous, would let her phone be so easily tracked."

"It says: 'Password needed.'" he said reading the box that popped up on his screen.

"I know." she said. "I told you my family was serious when it came to security."

"I think I can crack the password." he told her, a challenge, though he knew there was no way it would be this easy.

"Sure, of course you can try." she told him. "But three strikes and your computer gets hacked."

Kyoya sighed. "I won't give up." he said.

"And I appreciate the perseverance." she told him as she hung up. She laughed to herself as she held her phone close to her chest, she smiled as she returned to her book. This game was fun for her.

The next morning, Reika woke up by the sound of her phone ringing.

"Hello?" she said, not looking at the caller ID.

"Reika, it's Haruhi." Haruhi said. "Did I wake you?"

"Yeah, but that's okay." Reika said, not wanting Haruhi to feel bad. "What's up?"

"It's Sunday and I usually go shopping today." Haruhi said, Reika could hear Haruhi's excitement building. "There is a lot of great bargains today, and I was wondering if you would like to come with me."

Reika smiled. "Yeah, I'd like that." she said.

"Great, meet me at my house?" Haruhi asked.

"I'll be there in a few minutes." Reika said.

"Okay, see you soon." Haruhi said.

"See you soon." Reika said.

Reika was excited, she normally didn't see many people on weekends that weren't in the house staff. She yawned and stretched before getting out of bed to get ready.

Within fifteen minutes she was heading towards the kitchen. "Good morning." Reika said to them.

"Good morning." the kitchen staff said surprised. The kitchen staff was used to Reika coming down to the kitchen, but never this early.

"Are you feeling alright, Ms. Niigata?" Anita asked.

"I'm great." Reika said nabbing a piece of toast. "I'm going out, I don't know when I'll be back."

"Good to hear." Anita said, the rest of the present staff smiled too. It was a long time since they seen Reika leave the house on a weekend.

"Please tell my mother-" Reika started.

"Only when asked." Anita finished, she knew the ways that Reika liked things done.

Reika smiled. "Exactly." she said. "Bye." she said to the staff.

Reika and her scooter arrived at Haruhi's apartment minutes later. Haruhi was waiting outside.

"We won't need your scooter, the store is nearby." Haruhi said to Reika.

"Okay." Reika said unmounting her scooter and putting away her helmet.

The two girls walked in silence until they reached the store. Reika allowed to be dragged around by Haruhi. Haruhi was going crazy over the offers and bargains of the store.

"Isn't this great?" Haruhi asked Reika as they neared the end of their browsing.

"Yeah," Reika said smiling. "I never knew you could get so much stuff for such low prices."

"I know!" Haruhi said excitedly, happy to be able to share her hobby with someone.

As the two girls laughed over what they bought, they were blissfully unaware of the black cars that were in route to Haruhi's apartment caring the six Host Club boys.

"I had fun." Reika said as they were nearing Haruhi's street.

"Me too." Haruhi said. "Hey, do you have to go home soon?"

"No, why?" Reika asked.

"We could hang out at my house." Haruhi said.

"That would be great." Reika smiled.

Haruhi smiled back, soon her smile faded as she saw the people of her neighborhood looking at the limo that had just arrived and parked in front of Haruhi's apartment building.

"Is that…?" Reika said surprised as the Host Club boys filled out of their cars. Reika looked over to Haruhi to check her reaction, she laughed internally as she saw her friend's less than enthusiastic reaction.

Reika's eyes shifted to the boys, they were all looking at the apartment building in surprise. Kyoya seemed to be explaining things to them. Tamaki looked aggravated about something as he talked to Kyoya. Kyoya tried to usher the twins back into their car but Tamaki stopped him.

"I think we should go talk to them." Reika said to Haruhi, bringing her back to reality. "They are bringing in a crowd."

"You're right." Haruhi said begrudgedly as they walked to the boys on the other side of the street. It was then that Tamaki started making his big speech.

"Now listen up men," Tamaki started. "Don't you forget! We must be polite. This is a casual visit, we just happen to be in the neighborhood kind of visit. We are not here to judge the Fujioka family's lifestyle. The words: shabby, crowded, and rundown are absolutely forbidden."

"Right, yes sir." the twins and Honey said while saluting. Mori didn't say anything, but he saluted and that was enough for Tamaki. Kyoya, however, was aware of the fact that Reika and Haruhi were approaching them and heard every word. Haruhi looked ticked off.

"Don't say anything that might offend Haruhi or her father, and cause them to ask us to leave." Tamaki continued, only making Haruhi more angry.

"Well, it's too late for that." Haruhi said, the boys who were ignorant of the fact that the girls were listening to Tamaki's speech, now were surprised. More than the rest was Tamaki. "Go away!" she said.

Haruhi was so angry she was shaking. Making Reika worry that the eggs that Haruhi bought would be scrambled before they were opened.

"Haruhi." Tamaki said, taking in her girly appearance. As did the other usual suspects.

"That dress is pretty cute." the twins and Tamaki said. While Kyoya and Mori were silent.

"Shut up, get the hell out of here!" Haruhi yelled at them, mostly Tamaki.

Tamaki shrieked at the twins. "Haruhi is so mad she actually cursed at us." he said to them.

"It wasn't our fault." the twins said as Tamaki continued blaming them.

Reika took the opportunity to go ask the other guys what was going on. "Hey," she said to Mori, Kyoya, and Honey.

"Hi, Rei-chan!" Honey said with his usual enthusiasm. "How are you?"

"Good, how are you?" she asked him with a smile.

"I'm great, thanks for asking." he said. "What are you doing here?"

"Haruhi and I were shopping." she told him. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Tamaki wanted to check up Haruhi and her living situation." Kyoya said with his usual tone. "I tried to reassure him, alas, he was curious and so were we."

"But you've been here before, Kyo-chan." Honey said to the taller boy. "When you dropped Reika off on Friday."

"Yes," Kyoya said fixing his glasses on his face. "I never went in, though."

"Ah, okay." Honey said, understanding.

Haruhi looked annoyed as she ushered the twins and Tamaki towards her apartment. "Come on, then." she told the rest of them. "Apartment 203."

As the boys climbed the stairs, Reika and Haruhi stayed behind. "Do you want me to go?" she asked Haruhi.

"Of course not." Haruhi said. "Especially not now, I need your help with them."

Reika laughed and so did Haruhi. "They can't be that bad." Reika said as she and Haruhi climbed after the boys.

"Keep telling yourself that, maybe one day I'll believe it." Haruhi said.

The boys were all crowded around Haruhi's apartment door, waiting for Haruhi to open them.

"Okay, here's the deal." Haruhi told them when she got in front of the door. "I'm only giving you guys a quick peak. Three seconds. And then you all go home, got it?"

"Look," Honey said presenting Haruhi a blue wrapped up box. "I brought you a gift Haru-chan. I know how you love cake. There's both chocolate and strawberry. I think we should have some."

Haruhi sighed. "Fine, I guess I'll make some tea." she said as she unlocked the door.

Haruhi and Reika walked in the apartment first, the boys stayed behind as they checked out the apartment. All the boys gave their best at complementing Haruhi's apartment.

"You don't have to struggle to complement it." Haruhi said, putting a stop to their complements that sounded more like insults.

"Hold on," Honey said as he looked at the Reika's and Haruhi's shoes left at the door. "Do we have to take our shoes off too?"

"Please," Haruhi said. "If you don't mind."

"You hear that," Honey said to Mori in his usual happiness. "We have to take our shoes off. It's kind of like going to the dojo, huh."

"Yeah." Mori deadpanned.

The boys continued to make rude 'complements' over Haruhi's house, all which almost made Haruhi go over the edge. As Tamaki made the boys sit with their knees hugged to their chest so they could fit in the room, it almost made Reika burst out laughing.

"I just got to get through this visit," Haruhi muttered to herself. "I should've expected this from them."

Reika gave her friend a sympathetic look. "Come, I'll help you make the tea." she as she walked to the kitchen.

"Reika and I are going to make some tea." Haruhi announced to the boys.

"Hey, here's an idea." Reika heard Kaoru say from the other room. "Why don't you make us this, it's black tea that our father brought us as a souvenir from Africa. Here, try it."

"Umh. Sure, no problem." Haruhi said, unsure what to do. She walked into the kitchen and Reika had already prepared cups.

"It best served as milk tea," Hikaru called out. "Do you have milk?"

"I think so." Haruhi said. "When was the last time that I bought some milk?"

"We bought some today, remember?" Reika said pulling out the milk from the plastic bag.

"Oh, yeah." Haruhi said.

The two finished making the tea fast, it wasn't that hard, Reika even prefered this way to make tea, it was so much faster.

"I'm sorry Haruhi." Kaoru said. "You don't have to go through all that trouble, we don't need any tea. We'll be fine with a glass of water."

"What? It's no trouble." Haruhi said when she and Reika finished the last cup. "Besides, we've already finished."

The twins and Tamaki gave Reika and Haruhi shocked looks. "Oh, well in that case." the three boys said together.

They huddled together and whispered to each other. Kyoya answered them, but Reika didn't hear any of their conversation as she and Haruhi started bringing the cups to the table.

"Okay, guys." Haruhi said. "The tea's ready. I'm sorry that not all the cups match."

Reika sat next to Kyoya and Haruhi as Honey took out his present and set up the table with the cakes. He let Haruhi chose first, then Reika, and then himself. It was quite the accomplishment for him.

During the tea, Reika was seated next to Kyoya and Honey. They both watched as Mori gave Haruhi his strawberries and the twins and Tamaki started freaking out.

"What's up with them?" Reika whispered to Kyoya.

"I don't even know where to begin." he told her pinching the bridge of his nose.

Reika laughed at that. Before anyone knew it, the cakes were gone and so was the tea. That was when the boys started pestering Haruhi about lunch.

"Eating all that cake sure wet my appetite." Honey began.

"Yeah, isn't it lunch time about now." Hikaru said.

"Well, then. What's for lunch?" the twins and Tamaki said in union, they were doing that a lot lately.

"Seriously?" Reika commented to herself, and Kyoya overheard.

"Will you guys quit being so happy-go-lucky all the time." Haruhi complained.

"We'll take care of it." Kyoya said standing up. "We did drop in unexpectedly, so we'll pay for lunch." he said digging into his pocket. "Why don't you just order us some of your favorite sushi."

"Thanks, but no thanks." Haruhi said, not taking Kyoya's charity. "I think that if I let you guys pay I'll only regret it later."

"Oh, don't worry, Haruhi." Kyoya said taking out his gold credit card. "We'll just pay using the profits of the photos of you we auctioned off."

Hearing this, Reika couldn't help but to hit the back of Kyoya's leg. He looked down at her, his eyes asking what was wrong.

"That's kind of mean." she mouthed the words to him. He just raised an eyebrow at her and smiled sadistically. Reika rolled her eyes at him.

Meanwhile, at Kyoya's words, Haruhi was under a dark cloud. "So I'm really paying for it, after all." she said. "Well, if that's what you want. I do have a friend that runs a nice little sushi shop nearby, so I can just give him a call. Their stuff is pretty high quality."

Tamaki quickly scribbles a note and gives it to Haruhi, who is immediately offended by whatever it is. She tosses it away, and Tamaki throws a fit.

Then comes Honey who gives Haruhi an idea. "I'd really love it if you would make us something for lunch, Haru-chan." he said.

"I guess I could whip something up," Haruhi said to Honey. "But it's going to take me some time."

Honey was excited. "We can wait." he said jumping.

"I'm gonna have to go to the supermarket again." Haruhi said.

"We're coming with you." the twins said. "We want to see a commoners' supermarket."

"Me too!" Honey said. "Me too!"

"This could be a learning experience." Kyoya said.

"Then I guess, everyone is going." Reika said.

The boys filled out of the apartment, with the twins out in the lead chanting, "Commoners' supermarket! Commoners' supermarket! "

"Ah, that's it." Haruhi said regretfully to Reika. "So much for hanging out."

"We can hang out anytime." Reika said as she followed Kyoya out the door. "I'll lead them so you have some time to yourself while you figure out what you want to cook."

"Thanks, Reika." Haruhi smiled at her friend, while Reika waved Haruhi goodbye.

As Reika was about to go down the stairs, she saw Haruhi's dad climbing up. "Hey, Mr. Fujioka." Reika said.

"Oh, hey Reika." he said. "What an unexpected visit."

"Yeah, there are quite a lot of those today." she told him.

"Where's Haruhi?" he asked her.

"She's inside, she should be out pretty soon." she said. "Were going to the supermarket to make lunch."

"That's great." he said. "I'm so happy Haruhi has a friend to go shopping with."

Reika smiled at Haruhi's father as he was walking towards his apartment. Reika's happy mood, however, didn't last long as her phone rang again. She looked at the caller ID and sighed. She looked at the boys and back at her phone.

"Hey," she called down to them. "Can you check on Haruhi, I have to go make a call."

"Sure!" the twins said coming up the stairs.

Reika thanked them and walked to the other side of the apartment building.

"Hello." she said to the person at the other end of the line.

"Reika, where are you?" her mother asked.

"I'm at a friend's house." Reika said.

"Well, that's alright, I guess." her mother said. Her words confused Reika. "They can consul you, because the dinner with the Ootori has been postponed to next month. All of your planning gone down the drain."

"Oh, that's too bad." Reika said faking her sadness for her mother's benefit. Inside she was smiling and dancing.

"At least this gives up more time to plan." her mother said. The dancing and smiling stopped.

"Yeah, sure." Reika said, restraining herself from hitting her head on the concrete pillars. "My friends are missing me, I better go."

"Of course." her mother said as she hung up.

Reika sighed, sliding down to the floor to sit down. _At least that gives me one more month to have fun with Kyoya. That is until he learns who I am, then things will get weird. Hell, his father might even make him propose to me. Urgh!_ Reika thought to herself.

"Reika, are you okay?" a voice came from above her. She looked up and found Kyoya looking at her.

"Yeah, I'm great." she said faking a smile as she got up.

"You don't seem so sure." he said to her.

Reika gave him a defeated laugh. "Now who is too observant." she said. There was silence between them. Kyoya didn't know how to fix it. Reika leaned against the railing, her back facing him.

"I should be happy." she said. "I know you're going to be, you're going to find out who am I soon enough."

"What?" he asked her, reaching for her.

She turned around before he could touch her, and then his hand shot back at his side lightning fast.

"Nothing. Forget about it." she said, she was leaning against the railing again only this time she was facing him and he mirrored her actions. There was another silence. "I never thanked you for taking care of me on Friday."

"You don't need to thank me." he said. "We agreed when you took the medicine that if your side affects happened, you would be my responsibility."

Reika laughed. "Kyoya," she said touching his hand that was on the railing. "It's very impolite not to accept someone's gratitude."

He smiled at her, rolling his eyes. "You're welcome." he said.

"What?" she asked him, faking shock. "No 'you owe me'? No 'now you have to do this'? No 'you can pay me back with your body'?" she rolled her eyes at the last one.

Kyoya laughed. He laughed! It was the first time Reika had seen or made him laugh. It was weird, but it was also so infatuating. She started to laugh with him. This was an inside joke for them, anyone hearing this would have given the two a weird look.

"I never heard you laugh before." Reika said in between after shock giggles as things quieted down.

"There's not much that amuses me." he said.

"Well, I'm glad I know one thing that does." she said.

The two smiled for a minute, just smiled at each other. Until they were interrupted by Haruhi's father.

"Hey, you two come on!" He called out to them. "Were going to have some fun."

And fun, apparently, meant following Haruhi to the supermarket. Once there, everyone went their separate ways.

Tamaki went with Haruhi's dad to spy on Haruhi. Mori was pushing Honey around in a shopping cart as Honey looked around for pastries. The twins were looking at everything like it was a new world.

Kyoya pulled Reika with him as he looked at things. "You've been here before, then you should know how this works." was his excuse when she asked him.

He spent a better part of their time at the supermarket asking Reika questions about the product and the manners of buying the products.

"So does double coupon mean that I need two?" he asked her.

"I don't know." she told him, which has been mostly her answer to everything that he asked her. "I've only been here once, you know."

As Haruhi headed home, so did they. Reika helped Haruhi make lunch. Reika had never been much of a cook, in the end though, she helped out more than she taught. Maybe cooking should be added to list of things Kyoya is teaching her.

She glanced over at Kyoya as she was cooking. _How will he react when he finds out?_ She asked herself.


	8. A Terrible Day Gone Worst!

**Chapter 8**

_A Terrible Day Gone Worst!/Big Brother is a Prince!_

* * *

It was one thing to be shunned by people that she doesn't care about or get death threats from said people, but it's another thing entirely when they slash the tires of her scooter and then get showered by cold water from a bucket.

That's how Reika arrived at Music Room #3 that day. She was angry and she was dripping wet from head to toe. Just hearing those girl giggle as she passes them, pretending nothing was wrong, made her blood boil. She stronger than they gave her credit for, but once she arrived at the Host Club and saw their smiling face she remembered whose fault this was, all that credit went away.

"Reika, you're late." Kyoya said to her as he checked his watch.

She was angry, yet she didn't want to let it show in any convenient way. She walked towards Kyoya until they were toe to toe. She looked him straight in the eye.

"Then arrest me officer, before I run your customers over with a truck." she told him. He was taken aback, everyone was.

They never seen Reika angry before. She always seemed so calm and well kept together. Well, so much for that image of her.

The only two people who didn't take this situation as serious as they should have were the twins. "Okay." they said. They took Reika's words as a challenge as each twin grabbed a wrist and forced her into a chair.

"What are you doing?!" she yelled at them as she struggled against them until she heard two firm clicks. She looked at the silver bracelets on each wrist that was connected to the arms of the chair. "You actually gave them handcuffs?!" she said to Kyoya. "I thought we agreed that was a bad idea."

"Yeah, but you still gave one to the boss and Haruhi." the twins said as Tamaki and Haruhi searched for their handcuffs and found that they had been pick pocketed.

Reika groaned as she pulled on the handcuffs. "Give me the keys." she said to Kyoya.

"Before I do," Kyoya said. "What was that about running our customers with a truck?"

"Has she been drinking cold medicine again?" Tamaki asked Kyoya.

Reika rolled her eyes. "Come on, Kyoya." she said. "We both know that you already know."

Kyoya gave her a confused look and as did the rest of the Host Club. "What is going on, Rei-chan?" Honey asked.

She laughed at them. "You really want to play this game, fine." she said. "I was okay with the dead threats, trust me it was a thrill to see the ways all of your fans planned to kill me if they could. The refusal to speak to me from every girl in school was fine too, I had Haruhi for that. But slashing my scooter's tires and dumping ice cold water on me was badly thought up though very infuriating."

Everyone was quiet for a while, they were all wondering how this had all happened and none of them knew. Sure, Reika kept it hidden but not even Kyoya knew. Kyoya didn't know!

"How long has this been happening?" Tamaki asked seriously, he had a zero bullying tolerance.

"What?" she asked shocked. "You guys really didn't know?"

"How long?" Kyoya repeated Tamaki's question.

"Since I started being Kyoya's assistant." she said shrugging, looking down. All her anger was gone, she didn't want the boys to feel bad, it wasn't their fault. "It was fine, really. Until today."

"No, this is not fine!" Tamaki said angrily, the boys and Haruhi all had similar expressions. "I will not allow any of the members of my club to be threatened."

Reika smiled. "That's really sweet Tamaki, really." she said. "But I know how to take care of myself."

"They have been really mean to you Rei-chan." Honey said. "I don't want to entertain anyone who is mean to my friends."

"We don't either." the twins said. "Who ever did this to you, we will make sure they are dealt with."

"Just leave it to us, Reika." Kyoya said. "We'll figure out who did this to you."

"That's really nice of you guys." Reika said smiling, truthfully, she was near tears. She was so glad she had friends who were willing to stand up for her. "You do understand, though, that whomever is doing this, clearly isn't smart or knows what they are doing when it comes to these attacks."

"What do you mean?" Haruhi asked out loud what all the club members faces were asking.

"They write their death threats by hand, so I know their handwriting. They cut me off from speaking to other girls, which makes me only speak to you guys. They drenched my uniform, I don't have a spare, I'm going to have to borrow something in storage. And have you seen the clothes in storage?" she asked them. The twins smiled to each in response, and even Tamaki blushed. "Yeah, that's right. I'm going to have to wear that. Lastly, they slashed my tires which means I could ask of you guys to take me home. They are clearly idiots, the only thing that they are doing is bringing me closer to you."

The Host members smile at each other at Reika's oddly positive view of her bullying.

"They may be idiots," Hikaru started. "But that doesn't excuse them from what they did to you." Kaoru said. "And we'll make them pay."

Reika smiled at that. "Now can I please be released?" she asked Kyoya.

"Oh, I don't know where the keys are." Kyoya answered, not even a little bit worried. Reika's eyes narrow at him, then at the twins. "I've taught how to get out of handcuffs. I'm sure you can get out of them again, they are the same ones I used before."

Reika rolled her eyes as Kyoya's sentence catches up to the twins' perverted mind. "Wait. Does that mean you handcuffed her before, Kyoya-senpai?" they ask him. "What did you handcuff Reika-senpai to?"

Kyoya opens his mouth but then thinks better of it, and closes it again. The twins' eyes fall on Reika, begging her to tell them.

"Do you want the truth or the made up version?" she asks them, getting a little payback for Kyoya losing the keys. There is a devilish glare in her eyes that make even the twins are a little scared.

"Surprise us." they said.

Reika smiles at their reply. Kyoya braces himself for her answer, he knows he can't stop her from talking without making it seem like they did something else entirely different than just practice of Reika's lock picking skills.

"It was another late afternoon for us, we had just eaten and I was as bored as usual. Kyoya kept looking at me from time to time until he grabbed me by my wrist and told me that we were going to practice something new. I let myself be taken into the storage room where we keep all the props. He takes me to where the beds are and," Reika stops for dramatic effect and also to check everyone's expression.

Mori and Honey are disinterested, the twins are at the edge of their seats, Haruhi looks surprised, Tamaki is blushing and looking at Haruhi every few seconds, and Kyoya's hands are clenched as he keeps himself from stopping Reika from continuing her story.

"He tells me to sit down, I do. He tells me to close my eyes, and I do. I feel something cold on my wrists and before I know it I'm being dragged by my wrist to the frame of the bed. I'm lying sprawled on the bed when I hear two sharp clicks. I open my eyes and I see him watching me. I struggle with the cuffs, and he tells me to-"

"Okay, enough!" Kyoya said, fighting a blush. "That was clearly made up."

"Yeah, that's true." the twins say. "But good story. Really had us going for a minute."

"I knew you guys wouldn't be fooled by it." Reika said giving them a secretive smile. The boys and Haruhi are being entertained by Honey and his adorable antics when Kyoya approached Reika. "'Clearly made up'?" she asks him.

"That didn't happen." he said simply.

"Are you denying that you took me to the storage room and told me it was time to learn something new?" she asked him.

"No." he said looking down.

"That you told me to sit on the bed and close my eyes, then?" she asked him.

"No." he said.

"Or that you did handcuff to the bed?"

"No."

"Then was it that you said-"

"No!" he said almost too loudly. "I'm not denying that, it just didn't happen the way you were telling it."

"And how exactly was that?" she asked him, catching him off guard. "Because like you agreed, I had all the facts right."

"But-" he was about to protest but the doors of the Host Club were opening, the boys and Haruhi rushed to their positions just as their new guest came into view. It was a little girl, no older than nine with her hair in pigtails.

"Welcome," they all said in union.

"My," Tamaki said without breaking his princely deminior. "What a young guest. Well, glad you're here." he said offering the little girl his gloved hand. "My little lost kitty-cat."

The little girl just stared at Tamaki in awe and gasped. _Looks like Tamaki's charming self wins another heart. _Reika thought to herself.

"Little kitty-cat," Tamaki kindly addressed the little girl again. "Why have you come to see us today?"

The little girl blushed and Tamaki leaned in close to her, thinking she was going to be like his average customer. To his surprise, she pointed at him and said something that no one would soon forget.

"It's a reverse-harem!" she called out. Everyone, including Reika, was shocked. "This is a reverse-harem!" she said again, everyone was quite, trying to determine if what they heard was correct.

"That can't be right," Tamaki said trying to get non-existent water from his ear. "I must have heard wrong. Maybe there's still some water in my ear from when I went swimming."

Hikaru imitated the boss and laughed it off. "Water in the ear, that's gotta be it." he said, only he didn't posses Tamaki's unfazed face.

"I'm sure we just heard her wrong." Kaoru said following his brother's lead. "There's no way this cute little girl said the words reverse-harem. Something is going on with our ears."

The little girl's eyes traveled from the boys in front of her to Reika, who was soaking wet and handcuffed to a chair. Her little blue eyes returned to the boys.

"There is debauchery here." she said, another thing no one would be able to forget. She started jumping up and down excited. "Yay! There is debauchery here! Isn't there?"

"What do you mean there is debauchery here?" Reika asked her.

"Isn't it obvious?" the little girl said. "You are the only girl here and you're tied to a chair in a room filled with boys. This must be a reverse-harem, and when there is a reverse-harem there is debauchery."

"She has a point." Reika informed the boys and Haruhi, the little girl beamed.

Kyoya sighed pulling the keys to the handcuffs out of his jacket pocket and freeing Reika from the chair. "See, now no one is tied up." he said. "This is not a reverse-harem and there is no debauchery here."

"You told me you didn't know where the key was." Reika told him, furious.

"I must have forget, my apologies." Kyoya said nonchalant. Meanwhile, the little girl was educating the other members as to why this was a reverse-harem.

First was Kyoya. "You're the glasses character." then she moved to Honey and Mori. "You're the boy lolita, and the stoic type." she moved to the twins. "Twincest." then came Haruhi. "You're the book worm." her eyes moved to Reika. "And you must be the heroine who gets to play around with all of them." finally her eyes caught Tamaki who was afraid of what his identifier would be. "Big brother?" she said catching everyone by surprise as her eyes started to water. "My brother is blonde, you must be him."

She jumped to hug him. "You never told us this." Hikaru said.

"Since when do you have a little sister?" Kaoru asked.

"I don't." Tamaki said. "I'm definitely an only child. At least as far as I know."

The boys continued to argue over why they taught the little girl, Kirimi, could be Tamaki's little sister. After all, they are both blonde. Suddenly the conversation escalated from Tamaki denying that Kirimi was his sister to him accepting brotherly duties that he clearly didn't have.

"What do you think we should do?" Haruhi asked Reika and Kyoya as they watched Tamaki spun his new "little sister" around.

"We should probably try to find out if she actually has a brother at this school." Kyoya said pensively.

"She looks kinda familiar to me." Reika said looking at the little blonde girl. There was just something about her that was oddly familiar.

"Really?" Kyoya asked. "Do you think you know who her is?"

"I don't-" Reika stopped short as the room suddenly got dark.

"Kirimi. Kirimi." a creepy voice echoed through Music Room #3 as the lights turned back on. Just like that, Reika was reminded of who Kirimi was and also who was her brother.

A tall, fair skinned boy with blonde hair and blue eyes that matched Kirimi's features peaked through the door that no one even knew was in Music Room #3.

"Hey, um. Who the hell are you?" the twins said together.

"He looks like a foreigner." Honey said.

"What's up with that?" Haruhi said. "Even the door looks different all of the sudden."

"Oh, Kirimi." the boy said ignoring their comments. Kirimi whimpered as two dark figures came from behind the boy.

"Master." the man said.

"You forgot your cloak." the woman said.

Suddenly the handsome boy was shrouded in darkness, and Reika sighed rolling her eyes. It was him alright.

"Nekozawa-senpai?" the twins, Haruhi, and Tamaki said together in shock.

Reika smiled through it all and stepped up to greet her old friend. "Umehito, how have you been?" she asked him.

His eyes widened visibly through his cloak as he looked at her. "Reika, my love, is that really you?"

"My love?" this time all the Club members were shocked.

Reika just smiled. "Yes, it's me." she said.

Nekozawa took her by her arms and pulled her towards him like he was afraid she would disappear. "I have not see you, my dark flower, since I started at Ouran. Do tell me, how do you fair?" he asked with noticeable concern.

"I'm pretty good, I guess." she said, a little taken aback.

"Why are your clothes and hair so dampt?" he asked her.

"Nothing to be concerned about, just a harmless prank." she said waving it off as if not an hour ago she walked in demanding hell on her aggravators.

"A prank?" he said with anger. "Tell me their names and I will curse them and their bloodlines!"

"Now, now." Tamaki said very concerned. "No need to break out curses."

"It is necessary, someone has threatened my love." Nekozawa said.

"Umehito, didn't you come here to find your sister?" Reika said getting him off the path of revenge.

"Ah, yes." he said turning to face the others. His servants began to tell a very detailed background story of Nekozawa and his sister, while Kyoya pulled Reika aside to one of the back rooms.

"What is the relationship between you and Nekozawa-senpai?" he asked her, trying very hard to keep any emotions from entering his voice.

"Don't you want to hear the story, I can assure you that it is fascinating." Reika said trying to change the subject. "Though, it does lose something after you've heard it once every week."

"I've heard the story," Kyoya said. "I am curious as to how you've heard it, and you've heard it once a week."

Reika sighed. "We got married." she said seriously, but she meant it as a joke.

"What?!" he said a little too loud.

She laughed, and he began to understand what she meant. "He was one of my play mates from homeschooling, and we got _pretend _married once." she said. "We were pretty close, that is until he started to attend Ouran and he wasn't in the homeschooling program any more."

"I guess I deserved that." he said wiping his glasses and sighing.

"Yes," she said smiling. "Now you know to never handcuff me to any other places. Or haven't you learned your lesson yet. You know what they said, the third time's the charm."

Kyoya rolled his eyes at her. "This won't happen if you didn't twist the truth." he said.

"Twist the truth?" she asked him. "All that I've told you and everyone else is the truth, it's not my fault you misinterpret it."

"Because you make it sound like there's something there and there is nothing!" he said.

"I wouldn't say there is nothing there." she told him. "I say that is open to interpretation."

He shook his head at her. "So how long is this going to last?" he asked her.

"Do you plan on hand cuffing me again?" she asked.

"No." he said.

"Then it stops now." she said reaching for the door handle, "Oh, one more thing." she looked back at him. "Since we were on the topic of misinterpretation. Never handcuff a girl to a bed and tell, 'You are going to enjoy this.' if you don't want that to be misinterpreted."

His eyes widened and his cheeks began to change colors. "Rei-!" he started but she closed the door in a hurry before he could finish.

"What was that?" one pair of curious blue eyes asked her, while the second pair of brown eyes looked at her puzzled.

"Nothing to concern yourselves with." Reika said, more for Haruhi's sake than Kirimi's. There was no need for Reika's conversation topic with Kyoya to reach Kimiri's impressionable mind. "What are you guys reading?" she asked looking at the piles of manga on the Cub's couch.

"The bookworm is reading to me." Kirimi said.

"I'm not really a bookworm." Haruhi said a little on edge. "And my name is Haruhi."

Kirimi dismissed her completely. "Do I know you? Have we met before today?" Kirimi asked Reika. "You look very familiar."

"Yes, I'm a friend of your brother." Reika said. "I'm Reika."

"Reika Niigata?" Kirimi's eyes flashed in recognition. "I've heard your name whispered throughout my house, I thought you were a ghost."

"Nope, I'm very much alive." Reika said laughing, as Kyoya exited the back room and moved to the door. Haruhi took her opportunity to run away from Kirimi and her requests for Haruhi to read her shojo mangas.

"Do you run this club?" Kirimi asked Reika.

"No, Tamaki is the president." Reika said. "I work for Kyoya."

"Kyoya?" Kirimi asked confused.

"The glasses character." Reika explained.

"Oh, him. Do you like him?" Kirimi asked flat out.

"What?!" Reika asked shocked. "Why would you ask that."

"So you do like him."

"No I don't. He's my boss."

"Really?"

"Yes, really."

"I thought you two would be a cute couple. But I guess Big Brother would do too."

"Big Brother? You mean Tamaki? No, no, no. Just no."

"Then if you had to pick, which would you chose?"

"Kyoya."

"That was fast."

"So what?"

"You like him."

"I do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!" Kirimi said standing up. "And I'm going to prove it!" she said as she took off running to Science Room #3.

For a girl her age, Kirimi was really fast and got to Science Room #3 a lot faster than Reika did. When Reika got into the room, Kirimi was already inside and waiting to see her big brother's face in the dark science room.

"Sorry, I couldn't stop her." Reika said to Kyoya trying to catch her breath.

"It's alright." Kyoya said. "It just might be the push that Nekozawa-senpai needed to overcome his fear."

They watched as Nekozawa took the flashlight and pointed it at his face. Only instead of seeing his handsome face, Kirimi saw his face in the scariest way possible. She began to scream in terror.

"Kirimi, wait!" Nekozawa said as she ran away from him.

"So I guess shining the flashlight in his face," Hikaru started, "Scared her and sent her running." Kaoru finished.

Nekozawa was on the floor, mourning his failed attempt to make his sister like him. "Oh, Kirimi." he whimpered and started to cry.

"Nekozawa-senpai?" Tamaki asked concerned.

"I've had enough," Nekozawa said. "Even if I continue your special training, there is no guarantee that Kirimi will ever accept me. I think she'd be better off if you acted as her brother in my stead, Suoh."

Tamaki stepped up to the whimpering boy with a determined face. "That's ridiculous, you are the big brother she's looking for." he said. "If you care about her, you will do whatever it takes to win her over."

While Nekozawa considered his options, the twins opened the blinds in Science Room #3. "Hey, look." Hikaru said. "Kirimi-chan hasn't made it out of the court yard."

"But there's something down there with her." Kaoru said. "Oh, it's just a cat." It seemed that only Kyoya and Reika caught Nekozawa's worried face as Hikaru continued to talk.

"Your family sure loves cats." Hikaru said.

"Even stray cats warm up to you guys." Kaoru said.

"What did you say?" Nekozawa said leaping to the window, not bothered to with the light, as he concern washed his face. "They are revered by our family, that's true. But Kirimi wouldn't participate in something like that. Something as occult as befriending a stray cat." he said. Everyone stood still. "Kirimi is afraid of animals, and cats are the creatures she fears the most."

They all watched as the fat, white cat started to approach Kirimi and her scared face.

There was a crash noise and before anyone knew, Nekozawa was sailing through the window to rescue his sister.

"Nekozawa-senpai!" Tamaki called after him.

"But he's not wearing his black cloak." Haruhi pointed out.

"Is no one worried that just he jumped of a second story building?!" Reika asked outraged.

Like a true cat prince, Nekozawa landed on his feet and ran to save his little sister from the evil stray cat.

Seeing her brother for the first time not covered in cloaks, Kirimi recognized him and ran towards him to give him a long expected hug. "Big Brother!" she called him.

"Would you look at that." Honey said as the Host Clubs members observed at another one of their success with a smile on their faces.

"This is all thanks to my special training." Range said proudly.

Nekozawa's success, however, was fleeting as he soon became weakened by the sunlight and collapsed.

The next day, Reika had gone home early to attend one of her mother's classes on having dinner with the Ootori family.

Nekozawa walked in with his usual dark presence to meet the tall boy in glasses that called the meeting.

"What did you want, Ootori?" Nekozawa asked confused, he expected it was Tamaki that called the meeting, not Kyoya.

"Am I correct to assume that you care about Reika?" Kyoya asked, cutting to the chase.

"Yes." Nekozawa said. "I would do anything for my dark flower."

"Good." Kyoya said standing up and motioning for Nekozawa to follow him. He pointed at the picture of a brunette girl in the Ouran Academy uniform. "This is Princess Minori Shiga. She is the one that has been tormenting Reika for the past months."

A dark aura was being emitted from Nekozawa, so dark that his cloak looked light in comparison. "I would curse her and her bloodline, but I do not think my Reika would like that." he said.

"You are correct," Kyoya said fixing his glasses trying not to break them. "But that doesn't mean you can't scare her into stopping what she's doing."

Nekozawa was taken aback by Kyoya's comment. "You surprise me, Ootori." he said. "I might make you into a black magician yet."

"Just make sure that Princess Shiga stops her attacks on Reika." Kyoya said closing the file and giving it to Nekozawa. "Everything you need is in here."

"Thank you, I will make sure she stops." Nekozawa said taking his leave. But he stopped and looked back at Kyoya. "Do you care about her too?"

"She's my assistant, of course I care." Kyoya replied, not looking at Nekozawa as he started turning off lights and heading for the door.

"That's not what I meant." Nekozawa said curiously.

"I know." Kyoya said walking out of Music Room #3.


	9. The Mascarade of Ootori!

**Chapter 9**

_Mascarade of Ootori!/Honey's Three Bitter Days!_

* * *

It was an unusual three days for the Host Club. Especially for the two girls in the Club who had never seen Honey as nothing but sweet and adorable. He had become a tyrant monster for the past three days without having any of his sweets, it was quite the shock for the girls.

Now with the conflict resolved, Reika and Kyoya finally had some time to relax after hours in Music Room #3. Reika was bringing back their dinner for the night and found Kyoya just as she left him an hour ago, staring at his computer.

"What is it?" Reika asked as she set his food in front of him.

"Nothing." he said stubbornly as he closed his computer and started eating.

"Come on," she said sitting down and opening her food containers. "Something must really be bothering you. And I know it's not the Club's finances, we've saved a lot of money in Honey's anti-sweets campaign."

"You don't have to worry about it." he said. "It has nothing to do with the Host Club."

"Then what does it have to do with?" she asked him persistently.

He sighed, knowing that she was very persistent when she wanted to know something. It was something that he both admired and envied. She could get almost anything out of him, and he still didn't know anything about her. It was a new experience for him, he was usual who found out people's secrets, but it still infuriated him.

The more he thought about it, the more it seemed like a better a idea to tell her. After all, if she came, maybe someone would recognize her and he would know who she is. Of course, it wouldn't be as much fun as actually figuring it out himself. Then again, they would be wearing masks.

He opened up her computer and showed her the invitation. "It's my family's annual masquerade ball." he said as he let her look it over.

"What's the problem?" she asked him. "It looks like fun."

"Yes, except I'm expected to bring a date." he said casually. "I usually went with my past vice presidents since they have all been girls for the past three years. Only now, as you know, Tamaki is our class' vice president."

"Why not ask Haruhi?" she suggested.

"Ask the girl that everyone at school thinks is a boy?" he asked her, raising his eyebrow. "Is that wise?"

Reika smiled and laughed slightly. "I guess not." she said pensively. "Then why not take me?"

"You?" he asked surprised, even though he was expecting this.

"Yes." she said. "I'm a girl and I am considered a girl by the school. I may not be your vice president, but I am your assistant. That's close enough."

"I guess you're right." Kyoya said, fake considering the idea, while inside he was proud of the fact his plan had worked. "Yes, that will do."

"Then ask me." Reika said.

"What?" he asked her confused.

"Ask me to go to your family's masquerade ball." she said smiling.

He wasn't sure if she was kidding. "Alright." he said. "Reika, would do me the honor to accompany me to my family's masquerade ball?"

"I would be happy to, Kyoya." she said smiling, finding it amusing. "Now, was that so hard?"

Kyoya rolled his eyes at her. "Be ready tonight at seven, I'll-" he was interrupted by her.

"No, no, no." Reika cut him off. "I'm not telling you where I live." she smiled and he narrowed his eyes at her. "You didn't think I would make it that easy, did you? I'll meet you at there at eight."

"How will I know who you are?" he teased her plan.

She stood up and grabbed her food. "Trust me, you'll know." she said as she was walking out of the room. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to find a dress and a mask to wear tonight."

He watched her go, a small smile slowly forming on his lips.

* * *

Reika was shopping with Haruhi when the twins found her.

"What do you think of this dress?" Haruhi said pulling out a polk-a-dot black and yellow dress from the racks.

"It's a little too casual." Reika said, trying not to offend her friend by telling her that the dress she chose was very disastrous.

"I'm sorry that I'm no help with dresses." Haruhi said.

"It's okay, I just need your honest opinion." Reika said.

"That I can manage." Haruhi said smiling.

"Good." Reika said smiled back as she passed several racks of dresses.

"Why are you going to the masquerade with Kyoya-senpai?" Haruhi asked curiously.

"Because he asked, and he didn't have anyone else to go with." Reika said nonchalantly.

"Now that's not true." the twins said in unison as they caught up with the girls, making them both jump at their sudden presence.

"What do you mean?" Reika asked, getting over the surprise.

"Kyoya-senpai could have asked any of his guest to accompany him." Kaoru said.

"But he chose to ask you." Hikaru said.

Reika smiled at them. "That's because every year he chooses a girl that he actually spends time with." she told them. "He's taken all of his past female vice presidents."

"Then who did he take last year?" the twins asked her. "Wasn't his vice president last year Tamaki-senpai too?"

"Really?" Reika asked surprised, Kyoya had failed to mention that. "Who did he take then?"

"No one." the twins said. "We believed that he was going alone again."

"Then how did you find out?" Reika asked curiously. "Were you guys eavesdropping again?"

"Lucky for you we did, Reika-senpai." Hikaru said, smiling deviously.

"And why is that?" she asked him.

"If you would follow us." the twins said leading the girls away from the store. "You too, Haruhi."

"Should we?" Reika asked Haruhi.

Haruhi sighed, looking at the twins. "We might as well." she said following them and looking back at Reika. "They will taunt us until we do."

Reika nodded, falling into step with Haruhi, as they followed the twins. The red haired twins lead the girls to a blacked out store. Inside were hundreds of dresses, masks, shoes, and accessories.

"It is a pleasure to meet you again, Miss Reika Niigata." the twin maids said as the girls entered the store. "Miss Haruhi Fujioka."

"Hey," Haruhi said to the maids.

"Hello." Reika greeted the maids.

"Shopping is such a bore." Hikaru said to his brother.

"We will wait outside for you." Kaoru said.

Before they could leave, Reika stopped them. "Hey," she said making them turn around. "Thanks for this. Really."

The twins smiled. "It's our pleasure." they said in union.

Reika smiled back before turning to the maids. "Alright." she said clapping her hands and checking her watch. "We have four hours for me to choose a dress and everything else."

"Leave up to us, Miss Reika Niigata!" the maids said as they started showing Reika dresses.

Reika was trying on her fourth dress when she pulled Haruhi out of her chair and got her to try on dresses as well. Reika even got the twin maids to try on dresses with her and Haruhi.

Many, many dresses later. Reika stood in front of the mirror with the dress she chose. "This is it." she said smiling.

"You look great." Haruhi complimented her, smiling in awe.

"Thanks." Reika said turning around to face the other three girls. "I meant. Thank you, to all of you. This is perfect."

"It is our pleasure, Miss Reika Niigata." the maids said bowing.

Reika smiled. "Call me Reika, please." she said.

"You look beautiful, Reika." the maids said.

She turned to Haruhi, looking nervous. "Have you ever been to something like this before?" Reika asked her.

"I can't say that I have." Haruhi said looking at Reika's dress. "But I'm sure you will do great."

"Here's hoping." Reika said stepping away from the mirror, sighing.

"Don't forget your mask." the twins said coming from the door, and handing her a black mask.

"Thank you." Reika said taking the mask and putting it on. "What do you think?"

The twins offered their elbows to Reika. "Kyoya-senpai is going to have his hands full tonight." they said.

Reika smiled. "Thanks." she said. "All of you."

"Have fun tonight." Haruhi said waving at Reika.

"I'll try." Reika said as the twins lead her out of the store.

* * *

The ballroom of the Ootori Estate as well as the gardens were filled with masked people. Kyoya was watching from afar, observing the interactions of people. He saw many people taking advantage of being someone else for a night.

Though it didn't seemed illogical to him-how one person could suddenly be someone else entirely because of a silly mask-he wondered if he could do the same.

Kyoya was lost in thought, watching people dance and laugh, until he saw her. She was a tall girl with black hair, dressed in purple dress. It was her, he knew she couldn't be anyone else. Before he even realized it, he was walking in her direction.

Reika smiled at Kyoya as he walked towards her. He was wearing a black suit with purple details, his mask was especially made so it also accommodated his glasses.

He handed her a purple rose. "You were right." he told her, offering his elbow. "You are easy to spot."

She laughed at his comment, taking his arm. She twirled the rose between her gloved fingers. "You don't look half bad yourself." she said.

A man with a wolf mask approached them. "Looks as if you have found quite the date this year, Ootori." the man said.

Kyoya bowed slightly. "Thank you, Mr. Wakayama." he said.

"What is your name?" Mr. Wakayama asked Reika with a charming smile.

"Reika Niigata." she said smiling.

"Niigata, you say?" Mr. Wakayama said intrigued.

"Yes." Reika said smiling.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Niigata." he said.

"You too, Mr. Wakayama." she told him.

"Please excuse me." Mr. Wakayama said backing away from them.

Reika turned to Kyoya once Mr. Wakayama had left. "Who was he?" she asked Kyoya.

"A shareholder in my father's business." Kyoya said unceremoniously.

"He seems interested in who I am." she told him.

"He's not the only one." Kyoya said smiling coldly as they walked.

"Then why not ask him?" Reika told him, raising her eyebrow. "You could mention my name to many people here and they would be glad to tell you. Isn't that why you brought me here?"

Kyoya smiled. "Give me some credit." he told her. "Have I ever lied to you?"

"No," she said smirking. "But you have held back some of the facts."

"Fair enough," he said stopping and looking her in the eye. "Care to play a game?"

"What type of game?" she asked curiously.

"A truth game." he said.

She raised her eyebrow. "What kind of truth game?" she asked.

"Just for tonight," he said, contemplating his words. "I will be completely truthful."

"To me or in general?" she asked smiling, pleased.

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Only to you." he said. "Don't push it."

Reika giggled. "And what do you expect from me?" she asked.

"I want a favor."

"What type of favor?"

"I don't know yet."

"So you just expect me to give you a favor that even you don't know what it's going to be?"

"Yes."

"I take it the truth game has started."

"It has."

"Which means that I have no other choice but to accept."

"Exactly." Kyoya said smiling.

Reika closed her eyes and let out a laugh. "This should be fun." she said pensively. "Where should I begin?"

His eyes narrowed at her for the second time that night. Many people would have found his narrowed eyes a terrifying gesture, but to Reika it was encouragement.

"Don't push it." he warned her again.

"What is stopping you from asking people who I am?" she asked him.

"I want to find out for myself." he said.

"Then why did you really invite me here?" she asked him. "The twins said you didn't have a date last year."

He let out an angry huff. Plotting the twins' death, no doubt. "I wanted you to accompany me." he said.

"Is that it?" she asked him, knowing it wasn't the whole truth. "You told me you would tell me the whole truth."

"I have no other motives that I would like to discuss." he said cleverly.

She smiled, accepting defeat, she took a few steps away from him before turning around to face him. "What do you think?" she asked him, gesturing to her dress. She looked down nervously.

Kyoya looked down and mumbled something.

"What was that?" Reika asked interested.

He let out a breath, walking a few steps closer to her and looking her in the eye. "You look well." he said with his usual nonchalant face.

She smiled, it was short and curt, but she knew it took a lot to say it. "Thank you." she said.

They looked at each other, before they broke eye contact at the same time. He took a few steps back and cleared his throat while she half turned away from him.

When she turned back, a built man was whispering to Kyoya. Kyoya dismissed the man and turned to Reika.

"I'm needed." Kyoya explained to her, with slight hit of sorrow. So slight that Reika missed it all together.

"Go," she urged him. "I'll be okay." He nodded, taking one last look her before walking away.

"Miss Reika Niigata," said a voice behind Reika, making her jump and turn around to find the source of the voice. "Does your mother know you're here?"

"It seems like I'm at a disadvantage," Reika said to the man with her default decorum. "You know my name but I don't know yours."

The man smiled. "How rude of me." the man said extending his hand. "Yoshio Ootori."

Reika was surprised, but shook his hand regardless. "You're Kyoya's father." she said.

"Yes, I am." Yoshio Ootori said. "I'm surprised to see that you are my son's date tonight. Especially since he didn't inform me."

"That's because he doesn't know." she said.

He smiled. "And you didn't tell him." he said.

"It's a hard topic to discuss." she told him, sighing as she walked to the balcony. "And anyway, it's not like anything is set in stone."

"You don't want to marry him?" he asked, trying to understand the girl. "Would you rather be with one of my other sons?"

"That's not what I mean." she said, looking down at the guests in the garden. "How hopeless -do you think- it is for people like us to marry for love?"

"Nearly impossible." he stated coldly.

"Exactly. If I am to marry him, even if it is far off in the future, then I want to get to know him better." she said looking at the man in front of her for a second.

"Even if this deceit drives a wedge between you?" he asked curiously.

Kyoya waved at her from the garden below. She waved back. "Then I'll know really what type of person he is." she said, gesturing to Kyoya she would be down soon. She turned to Kyoya's father. "He wants to find out who I am by himself. I respect that, and I hope you will too."

Yoshio Ootori nodded. "I will." he said, she bowed and started to leave him. "All though, he will find out soon enough, the day is approaching."

Reika turned her head back to look at him. "I know." she said. "And I'm going to hold on to each day until he finds out."

"He's lucky." Yoshio Ootori said.

Reika smiled sadly. "I'm not so sure." she said before leaving him.

Yoshio Ootori watched as Reika meet up with Kyoya on the garden below. The two were greatly matched. Yoshio pondered over their interactions. Reika held back, but not as much as his son. Yoshio could tell that the girl was uncertain of Kyoya's feeling towards her, and that could prove to be a problem if he wanted negotiations with S&amp;A Enterprises to go smoothly. He looked at his two eldest sons and smiled coldly. This wasn't the time to leave things up to fate.


	10. The Flower Investigation!

**Chapter 10**

**The Flower Investigation!/Haruhi in Wonderland!**

* * *

Days were hectic after the Ootori Family Masquerade, with midterms coming up and the Host Club planning an extra special day so their guests could forget about their troubles. Decorations and costumes flew across Music Room #3 at Reika's command.

"Those costumes go up front," she told the faceless workers. "That banner should be higher." she told another.

Kyoya was smiling at his laptop as he saw the RSVPs and all of the money they had made for tomorrow's event. He almost hated the fact that most of that money would be gone by the end of the night when the workers left with their paychecks. Still, he felt a great deal of pride from their work.

His eyes shifted to the girl in the middle of the room making sure that all of the Host Club members' requests were met. A smile escaped without permission as he watched her as she freaked out and still kept calm. The millisecond her head turned in his direction, his smile disappeared twice as fast as it appeared. He might not have known what this feeling was, but he knew better than let her on to it.

"I think were almost ready." she told him excitedly as she walked towards him, a proud smile similar to Kyoya's on her lips. "What do you think?"

He pretended that he had just noticed the decoration, taking his time looking at it. His nonchalant expression made Reika want to roll her eyes impatiently.

"It's good." he said simply, nearly deflating Reika's ego. "You did a good job."

Reika took a second look Music Room #3, it was expertly decorated to look like Alice's Wonderland. Out of proportion items, cards and roses everywhere, and everything to give the Host Club's guests the best possible experience of the imaginary world.

"Just good?" Reika asked Kyoya doubtfully, and frankly, a little offended.

"Are you fishing for compliments, Reika?" Kyoya teased her, standing up so he could have a height advantage.

"What's wrong with getting the compliment that this room deserves?" she asked him, teasing him back.

"The workers put it together." he said. "Should I compliment them too?"

"Yes." she told him. "But I already have, in your behalf, of course."

He gave her a surprised look. "Aren't you dedicated." he said. "What made you think I wouldn't thank them myself?"

Reika shrugged. "You were busy." she said closing his laptop as she sat on the table.

"This is one of our best events in months." he confessed.

"It's going to be great." she said admiring the room again.

"Thank you." Kyoya said quietly when she was distracted, taking the opportunity to look at her again. "For putting this together."

"It was fun." she told him, turning to catch his eyes on hers.

Time didn't seem to pass, what seemed like hours of shamelessly starring at each other, was only a few seconds before a door slammed.

"Sorry," one of the workers said. "Forgot my tools."

When the doors slammed again, Reika and Kyoya were looking at anywhere but at each other.

"It's getting late." Reika excused herself. "I-I-I better get home." she stuttered, making her feel even more like a fool.

"Yes!" Kyoya said a little louder than he intended, as he took the out she was giving him. "I should go as well."

She gathered her stuff. "Bye," she said when she reached the door and faced him, catching his eyes again. She didn't know what made her so flustered when she nearly squeaked, "See you tomorrow in class."

"Yes, see you tomorrow." He said lamely. She stayed a second too long, so he added, "In class."

When the door closed, both people on each side of the door slammed their foreheads with their palms.

"Stupid." Reika called herself.

"Idiot." Kyoya said to himself.

The next morning, when the first bell of the day had rung, a small first year boy made his way into class 2-B. The attention of everyone was grabbed by the large bouquet of flowers that covered the small first year boy.

"Flowers," the first year struggled to say behind the flowers. "For Niigata Reika."

Questioning looks mixed with envy from every girl in the class were shot at Reika, who was still sitting at her desk, unsure what to do. She gave Tamaki and Kyoya helpless looks.

"Oh, Reika, you got flowers!" Tamaki said excitedly as he stood up, seeing his friend's uneasiness. "I wonder who they're from."

"Yes," Kyoya said standing up. "Let's take a look."

Kyoya took the flowers from the first year, who was more than glad and quickly scurried off. The teacher seemed oblivious, as he continued to type on his computer.

"Come on, Reika." Tamaki said ushering Reika out of her seat with one of his charming smiles, making the envious looks at Reika just melt into his smile. "Let's find out who your admire is!"

Kyoya placed the flowers an empty desk at the back of the room. The teacher took his cue to start teaching, completely ignoring the three students at the back of the class.

Glad that the attention was being take off of her, Reika started searching for a card. "Where is the card?" she asked the boys as she frantically searched in the wilderness of flora.

"Here it is!" Tamaki said excitedly, pulling the card from one of the flowers that Reika had missed.

Reika took the card, she looked at the boys that started at her in anticipation. She glanced at the flowers. The flowers were a beautiful arrangement of pink and white daisies and roses.

"Well, they are too cheery for Nekozawa." she laughed uneasy, not sure she wanted to know who the flowers were from.

"Clearly," Tamaki said. "Now who is from?" he asked with a curious smile.

Reika sighed, looking from the card to Kyoya, he gave her no sign of understanding her uneasiness. She took a deep breath, opening it.

Between Tamaki overexcitement and Kyoya's cold stare, she didn't want to know who the card was from, so she closed her eyes shut while her hand opened the card. She opened them to find a very confusing message, from greeting to signature.

Seeing her perplexed expression, Kyoya took the card from her hand. He read once, and then two more times before Tamaki took it from his hands.

"What does it say?" Tamaki said as he plucked the card from Kyoya's hand, only he didn't read the card to himself. "My dearest, Reika, if that isn't too forward of me. The mere sight of you at the masquerade ball has captured my eyes as well as my heart. With one word, I was lost to you. I hope that you will accept these flowers as a symbol of my interest. Akito Ootori."

"Akito Ootori?" one of the girls in the back of the classroom caught the name. "Isn't he Kyoya's brother?"

"I hear he's dreamy." another girl answered.

"And smart." cooed a third.

"Reika, why is Akito sending you flowers?" Tamaki asked seriously, ignoring the chatting girls.

"I have no idea." Reika said, taking a look at Kyoya's expression. Hoping he would be able to give her some reason as to why. But his face was cold and blank, like he heard none of it. "I just talked to him once at the masquerade."

"Are you sure?" Tamaki asked.

"Yes, I was with Kyoya for most of the night." Reika said.

"She's right," Kyoya said, sounding colder than usual. "We barely spoke to my brothers."

"Why is this going on?" Reika moaned frustrated as she stared at the flowers.

"I don't know." Kyoya said dismissively as he started to walk to his desk.

His sudden disinterest hurt Reika for unknown reason as to why, it made her angry and sad at the same time. She spun around and called after him. "That's it?" she asked him. "You're not going to do or say anything?"

"Why would I care?" he said stopping but not turning around. He looked at the ground, trusting it would not betray his emotions, when he rose his eyes from the floor the only thing they showed was dismissal.

Tamaki watched as Reika frustratedly bit her lips and glared daggers at the back of Kyoya's head as she tried to find the right words. Coming up with nothing, she threw her hands up in the air and walked to her desk.

"Then, nevermind." she said as she stood tall even though she felt defeated.

Kyoya walked to his desk with the same mode of conduct that even the oblivious leader of the Host Club noticed. Tamaki looked from the paper to the flowers. Something was about this was wrong, and he was going to find out what it was.

* * *

Later that day, the Host Club members were helping Kyoya and Reika with the final details of the Wonderland Party. Reika, however, was late that day. She rushed into Music Room #3, papers flying as she apologized about her tardiness.

"Well, if it isn't my future sister-in-law." Kyoya joked, making it sound more cruel than bitter. "I hope you won't be this late on your wedding day."

Reika gave him a black look, making everyone in the room shiver in fear. Except for the receiver of the look himself.

"Why would Kyo-chan say that?" Honey asked looking at Mori, but welcomed anyone to answer.

"Reika got flowers this morning from Kyoya's brother, Akito." Tamaki filled the rest of the Host Club in. "Kyoya has been in a bad mood ever since."

"Why is Kyoya-senpai in a bad mood?" the twins asked, looking at each other and reaching the same conclusion with mischievous grins. "Could it be that Kyoya-senpai is-"

"We can hear you, you know." Reika said, making them jump. She was, even now, locked in a staring contest with Kyoya.

"And I'm not jealous." Kyoya said, still not looking away from Reika's glare. "If that's what you're thinking."

"Are you sure about that?" she asked him, her eyes narrowing.

"Positive." he said, his eyes mirroring hers.

She turned away from him, flashing the rest of the members a friendly and apologetic smile. "It's been a long day." she said. "Think you guys can manage without me?"

"Y-yes." Tamaki stammered at her unexpected change of temper.

"Good." she said, still smiling as she grabbed her backpack and walked out the door, slamming it shut behind her.

"Why are you being so mean to Reika?" Haruhi asked Kyoya. "It's not like she meant to get those flowers from your brother."

Kyoya sighed, letting a smile show. "I think I'll head home early as well." he said, walking towards the door. Before actually leaving he looked back towards the remaining members. "Don't touch anything." he said with his usual, cold smile.

Everyone put up their hands, showing him that they weren't touching anything. Once Kyoya was gone, Tamaki smiled wickedly and ushered everyone closer.

"Now that they're gone, we are going to investigate." he said excitedly.

"Investigate what, boss?" the twins asked.

"Who really sent Reika those flowers." Tamaki said.

"You're saying it wasn't Kyoya-senpai's brother?" Haruhi asked confused.

Tamaki smiled again. "That's what we're going to find out." he said.

* * *

The day of the Wonderland party, everything was set. Not only the party decorations, the food, or the costumes, but Tamaki's plan was also in motion. After collecting Haruhi from her nap, they and the rest of the club members made their grand entrance. Girls oohed and awed, some went as far as to faint when they saw the Host Club members arrive.

Like always, Reika was working. The only reason why she was even aware of the presence of her friends was the lack of glares she was getting as she waited on the tables. She was refilling a few tea cups when she saw Kyoya heading towards her.

"What would my brother think if he saw right now?" he whispered in her ear, taunting her.

She slammed the delicate pot on the table, taking him by surprise as he almost jumped. She had taken his quips and sneers in silence for longer than she should have, her anger was rising to a boiling point and she was ready to erupt.

"I have had enough!" she told him, animosity in her eyes. "I don't like your brother, I barely know him! And quite sincerely, right now I'm not even sure that I like _you _all that much!" she said before walking away.

Kyoya watched her almost walk away before he pulled her back to his chest by her elbow. "I don't think you understand," he whispered in her ear. "What Akito wants, Akito gets."

Without turning around she scoffed, pulling her arm from his grasp. "To quote you, why would you care?" she asked, not expecting a response as she did walk away from him.

He looked at her go, sighing. She didn't understand.

"He didn't sent her those flowers." Tamaki told his friend he patted Kyoya's shoulder.

"What?" Kyoya asked, confused more than surprised, a look that one normally didn't see on Kyoya Ootori's face.

"Akito never sent Reika those flowers." Tamaki repeated, a smile sliding on to his face. "I thought that the resourceful Kyoya Ootori would have looked more into that before he let his feelings get this out of hand."

"Who are you to talk about feelings?" Kyoya asked his friend, gesturing to Haruhi as she entertained her guests.

"W-what do you mean by that?!" Tamaki asked, his triumphant moment squashed into bits. "That's my little girl!"

Kyoya let out a chuckle. "Sure she is." he teased.

"I'm serious!" Tamaki said.

"Thank you," Kyoya said changing the subject. His verbal gratitude took Tamaki aback, Kyoya rarely said thank you and mean it. His look shifted to Reika, who was working as hard as before.

"You owe her a very big apology." Tamaki said.

"I know." Kyoya said, more to himself. His eyes shifted to Tamaki. "If Akito didn't sent those flowers to Reika, who did?"

Tamaki sucked in his breath, giving Kyoya another pat on the shoulder. "Ask your father." he said.

"What?" Kyoya asked with the same tone as before.

"Yeah." Tamaki nodded in understanding. "I know."


	11. The Family-Business Dinner-Meeting!

**Chapter 11**

**The Family-Business Dinner-Meeting**

* * *

_Kyoya looked at Tamaki. "Are you absolutely sure about that?" he asked his friend._

_ "We may not have had the same resources that you have, but I can say without a doubt that it was your father who ordered those flowers." Tamaki said._

_ "We?" Kyoya asked._

_ "Yes, we were all worried about you." Tamaki said._

Kyoya thought back to his conversation with Tamaki the day before. It was the weekend and Kyoya had been reflecting the events of the previous days as he tried to pin-point his father's motivation for sending Reika flowers with Akito's signature.

It was already midday when he finally had it with analyzing the facts, not finding one good reason that fit. He knocked on his father's office, knowing he would be there before they headed out on one of their family-business dinner-meetings, tonight it would be with the president of the S&amp;A Enterprises and her family.

"Enter." he heard his father's voice on the other side of the door. "Ah, Kyoya. What brings you here?" his father asked when Kyoya walked into his office.

"I think you know why I'm here." Kyoya said, obliging to his father's gesture to sit.

"Yes," Mr. Ootori said without hesitation as he also sat down. "Only I expected you to come sooner. When did you find out?"

"Yesterday." Kyoya admitted nonchalantly. "But not because I was the one looking into it."

"Oh, yes. I know." Mr. Ootor said, his voice held disappointment. "Discretion is something your friends seem to lack in."

"You made it too easy." Kyoya said. "You wanted me to find out you sent those flowers, that much is clear. What I can't seem to understand is why would you do it? What would you have to gain from it?"

"It's not something that_ I_ would gain from, but something that _you_ would gain." Mr. Ootori said. "Or at least, I hope you did!"

Kyoya scoffed, showing slightly how angry he was at his father's manipulations. "What could I have possibly have gained from that?" he asked.

Mr. Ootori let out a laugh as he stood up to pour himself some tea. "If you had taken the time yourself to look for it, you would have come to that it was me sooner and I would have gladly told you." he said, not turning around. "But now it's too late. You're going to find out one way or another, and now you can't escape from it now. I gave you the chance, you're the one who didn't take it! Your punishment for being so thick-headed is to wait!"

"Wait for what?!" Kyoya asked, losing his patience as he walked up to his father. "What could this possibly have to do with Reika Niigata?"

"Everything!" Mr. Ootori said turning around to face his son, his anger showing. "Or have you not been paying attention? It was cryptic of her not to tell you who she is, but now you have no one to blame but yourself for not figuring it out!"

"What are you even talking about?" Kyoya asked frustrated.

"Then let me make it clear." Mr. Ootori said. "Tonight, at the dinner with the president's family, try not to act too surprised it's been staring you in the face for months! Now leave, I have to prepare."

"How can he be at the top of his class and still not understand?" Mr. Ootori asked himself once Kyoya left his office.

* * *

In another part of the city, another parent was being frustrated about her teenager. "Reika, how could you possibly think that's an appropriate dress to wear?!" Mrs. Niigata asked her daughter.

It was not the fact that Reika's dress was too short or too revealing that caused her mother's outburst, but the simple fact that it wasn't too short or too revealing.

"This is practically a marriage meeting! You have to look your best if you hope to attract the attention of the youngest Ootori son." her mother said seriously.

"I rather not have his attention at all." Reika whispered to herself, not that her mother heard as she was busy digging through Reika's closet.

"I know!" her mother said, running to the door and to her room. "I have the perfect dress."

"Please don't let it be her wedding dress!" Reika half-joked with Anita, making the maid laugh.

"This," her mother said when she re-entered Reika's room. The dress was white, but it wasn't a wedding dress like Reika had predicted. The dress was simple, yet elegant in an unexpected way when Reika tried on the dress.

"It was the dress I wore to my first marriage meeting with your father." her mother explained. "He wasn't my official suitor for that day, you know. By a struck of luck, the man I was supposed to meet got held up at some business trip and your father covered for him."

"Really?" Reika asked surprised. Not only because of her mother's sudden trip down memory lane, but also because it had been a long while since she saw this side of her mother. The side that talked about family and treasured moments like those, not the woman who was cold blooded, overly ambitious, and ran two global Enterprises.

"Yes." Mrs. Niigata said smiling, lost in her memories. Suddenly, her eyes were filled with tears as her memories went farther into their lives together. "More than anything in the world, I hope you find the same kind of happiness that I did." she admitted to her daughter before she excused herself.

Reika stared at her door long after her mother had left, only later realizing that she was also crying. "Mom?" she croaked, that word felt rusty to her tongue as she said it. It had been years since she had called her mother that, and only when she said them, did she realize how much she missed saying it.

* * *

Before anyone knew it, the time had come. Each family got in their cars and drove to the same traditional Japanese tea house. Where a delicious seven course dinner awaited them. The Ootoris arrived first as it was the expectation as the hosts of this evening's dinner.

Kyoya was on edge, not that anyone could see through his cool facade as he simply sat there drinking his tea.

"I feel that I owe you this simple warning, son." Mr. Ootori said evenly, his eyes on his tea as he sat it down on the table. "And to inform you that I don't just intent on signing on to this deal with the president of S&amp;A Enterprises, this too big of a contract to just count on her word."

Kyoya kept looking at his tea as his father's intentions became clear to him. "You want to merge with their company by marriage. My marriage." he said, trying to keep his tone nonchalant while anger boiled up inside him. "Is this why you did it? Because you didn't me to get too close to her, so I wouldn't ruin your business deal?"

Mr. Ootori laughed amused. "Oh, Kyoya." he said sighed, both amused and disappointed. "How my son can be so smart and yet so stupid, I will never know."

Before Kyoya could try to contradict his father, the attendant of the tea house pulled open the screen door, revealing an older woman. The woman was clearly the president of S&amp;A Enterprises, though something about her was very familiar to Kyoya.

"President Niigata." Mr. Ootori said bowing to the woman, letting his sight drift to Kyoya who was too busy trying to place the woman in his mind to actually register her name.

"President Ootori." Mrs. Niigata bowed back to Mr. Ootori. "I'm grateful to finally meet your family."

"Yes," Mr. Ootori said smiling politely before asking the question he had really been wondering about. "Where is your daughter?"

"I apologize, but she will be running late this evening." Mrs. Niigata said. "I hope you all can understand."

"Of course." Mr. Ootori said, ushering Mrs. Niigata to the table. "In the meanwhile, I would like to introduce you to my family."

Reika dashed from the limo to the tea house. Why her mother had left her behind to take the later limo, who made her even more late on such an important day, she didn't understand. Maybe it was some type of strategy, which Reika didn't have much time to analyze before she stood in front a mirror inside the tea house as she tried to look less frantic.

"May I help you?" One of the attendants asked her. "Are you here to meet someone?"

"Yes." Reika said, out of breath. "Ootori- family." she said in-between breaths.

"Ah, are you Miss Reika Niigata?" the attendant asked her, knowing the answer before she pulled a package from behind the reception desk. "You're mother left this for you."

"M-my mother?" Reika asked as she took the package. "Of course."

"She also asked me to hand you these instructions."

Reika took the paper, thanking the attendant as she followed the directions to the private room that the Ootori's were having dinner in.

She opened the paper. "Dear, Reika. I trust that you have dressed yourself for the occasion, and that I won't be disappointed when I finally see you tonight. The package is for Kyoya, the Ootori son you will most likely will be engaged to, and also your reason for being late. You didn't want to meet your possible husband without a gift. And at least attempt to act shy when you say those exact words." she read the instructions out loud. "What?!" she asked angrily.

Just as she was crumpling up the paper in fury, the screen doors in front of her opened swiftly and closed not long after the person passed through it.

"Reika?" the person from the room asked when he saw her.

Reika knew that voice, she knew it too well that it physically hurt when she looked up at him. "Kyoya." she acknowledged him, her eyes were closed as she hoped the moment would just go away.

"What are-?" he started to say, when finally all the pieces fell into place. "You're her. You're the heiress of S&amp;A Enterprises and Niigata Enterprises. You're the one my father wants me to marry."

Her eyes tightened shut as his harsh tone felt like a slap. "Yes." she croaked.

"And you knew." he said.

"Yes." she said.

"Did you enjoy seeing me running around, trying to figure out who are, when you knew that we would end up here?" he asked her with a cruel tone, almost taunting her.

"I didn't want this." she admitted it, finally opening her eyes and staring him head on. "And if you thought that I did this to play around with you, then you are more self-centered than I thought!"

"Then why did you do it, Reika?!" he came near yelling. "We welcomed you into our club, I let you into our lives."

"I didn't betray the club!" she yelled at him. "Every moment of everyday I spent there with them was real. I came to Ouran for two reasons: I wanted to finally have a real world experience, and thanks to the Host Club I not only did that but I found amazing friends. So don't tell me that I betrayed them, they have nothing to do with us."

"What was the second reason?" he asked, trying to be patient but he was also curious.

"What do you think?" she asked still angry. "You hear you're going to be engaged to someone. They say we think alike, what would you do in a situation like that?"

Kyoya looked away, understanding he would have done the same. "I understand." he said.

"But it wasn't just that." she said swallowing, making him look up at her again when he heard the scared tone in her voice. "When I got to know you, and the rest of the Host Club, I didn't want anything to change between us. The Host Club is like a home to me, I didn't want to lose it."

"You didn't." he said quietly, she almost missed it. What Kyoya had realized in that moment, in those mere seconds that she talked about leaving, that he couldn't let that happen. Yes, later that night he would convince himself that he did for the benefit of his friends, for the Host Club even. After all, Reika had become a very important person in their lives, she was irreplaceable. If forgiving her, which he did faster than a heartbeat, meant she would stay therefore making the crisis of their friends finding out and feeling betrayed could be averted, then how could he not agree. But his overall reasons were selfish and easily explained. He couldn't lose her, just as much as she couldn't lose him. Maybe this was what his father wanted him to understand.

"What?" she asked confused.

"You are not going to lose the Host Club." he said. "And you're not going to lose me."

"How can you say that?" she scoffed. "We are probably going to get married, that changes a lot of things."

"It doesn't have to." he said.

"Have you gone insane?" she asked him, genuinely concerned.

"For today, we are just engaged. Not married." he told her. "Who knows what could happen in a few years. That doesn't mean that this changes anything between us."

"How can it not?" she tried to reason with him.

"Will you still attend Ouran?"

"Yes."

"Will you still be in the Host Club?"

"Yes, if you want me to stay."

"Will you continue to be my assistant?"

"For as long as you want me to be."

"Then nothing changes." Kyoya said. "Yes, we're engaged by our parents, no one other than us needs to know that."

"Are you sure?" Reika asked. "Do you really want to keep this a secret from everyone?"

"Until we set a date, nothing might happen." he said. "There's no need to worry. Are you okay with that?"

She closed her eyes, thinking before answering. "Yes." she said.

"Good." he said. When her eyes opened he offered his arm for her to take. "We better go inside and pretend we're okay with this."

She nodded, taking his arm. "Oh, before I forget." she handed him the package. "For you."

"You got me a gift?" he asked her, looking at her while she looked straight ahead with a sly smile.

"Technically, no." she said. "But anyone asks -especially my mother- yes."

He smiled, taking the package. "What is it?" he asked.

"I have no idea." she said laughing, he joined her.

"See, it wasn't too hard." he said.

"What wasn't hard?" she asked puzzled.

"Getting things back to normal." he said. Before she could reply, he opened the screen door.

"Ah, good." Mr. Ootori said. "You found each other in the hall."

"Yes, we did." Kyoya said, giving his father a cool smile.

"I trust there won't be any problems." Mr. Ootori said.

"Why would there be any problems?" Mrs. Niigata said. "Reika understands the severity of this agreement. I'm positive we will have no problems in our arrangement."

"Of course, mother." Reika said, Kyoya gave her arm a reassuring squeeze. She gave Kyoya a grateful look when the adults tuned back to their own conversations.

_We can do this._ Kyoya said to himself as he passed Reika a cup of tea.

_Together. _Reika said to herself as she accepted the cup.

Their eyes met and they both nodded. Both of them thinking the same thing: _I'm glad it's you._


	12. The Road Back to Normal!

**Chapter 12**

**The Road Back to Normal!/Covering the Famous Host Club!**

* * *

It was yet another late night for Reika and Kyoya as they went over the Host Club's budget over the last month.

"Range's manga is doing great." Reika said looking at the numbers on her laptop. "We sold out in seconds, those girls sure love Renge's idea of what happens in the Host Club. As for Tamaki's special, I think we'll need to order more copies soon too."

"Did you reserve the traditional garden for tomorrow?" Kyoya asked her as he typed on his computer. He knew that she did, but he liked watching her reaction whenever he questioned her competency.

She looked away from the screen, narrowing her eyes at him. "No, I didn't." she lied, catching his eyes widen in surprise as he looked away from his computer to catch her expression at him. "Two can play this game, you know."

"But you did reserve the gardens, correct?" he asked her, his face was expressionless as he tried to keep from smiling. His eyebrows gave him away to the fact that he was joking.

"Yes." she said rolling her eyes at him. "Of course I did."

"Good." he said standing up and closing his laptop as he started to pack up. "Then we can go home now."

"It's already eight." she said looking at her wrist watch as she too started to pack up. "Where did the time go?"

"Between setting up the Host Club's calendar for next semester, the online auctions, and the product testing. It's surprising we finished earlier than usual." Kyoya said as they walked to the door.

"Don't forget your cooking lessons." she told him, as they walked down the hall.

"I'll have you know that my cooking was explendid even before you started to teach me." he told her.

She laughed. "If you wanted to eat gourmet ramen for the rest of your life." she replied as they walked outside.

"The Ootori's have great chiefs at our disposal." he argued back. "So you don't have to worry about me going hungry."

"What about learning and doing things for yourself?" she asked him triumphantly. "Wasn't that what you told me when I didn't want to learn how to sew?"

"And now you could have a successful career as a seamstress." he teased her, smiling.

"The Niigata's have great tailors at our disposal." she joked, recalling his words. "So you don't have to worry about me walked around with tears in my clothes."

His eyes narrowed at her and her joke. "Sometimes I regret making you my assistant." he said, though not meaning it.

"Too bad." she said, sitting on her scooter and putting on her helmet. "Because I'm here to stay."

"Drive safely." he told her, smiling.

"Don't forget about our presentation tomorrow." she said, starting her scooter.

"It's Tamaki you should be worried about." he said.

"I know you already took care of him." she told him, a satisfied smile on her face as she drove off.

"Of course you do." he laughed to himself when she was gone.

* * *

Later the next day, the Host Club members were entertaining their guest at the garden while in traditional Japanese costumes. Because today Kyoya was entertaining guests of his own, it was up to Reika to do analyze and take notes of the Host-guest interactions.

"But we can't do this, Tamaki." the guest said, while she was wrapped up in Tamaki's embrace. "There are so many girls who love you, and if we get any closer I'm afraid they will all hate me for it."

Tamaki pulled her closer. "Princess, these beautiful hydrangeas will keep us hidden from the others. You don't need to worry for this moment I belong to no one but you. My love, the spirit of the hydrangeas-"

Reika stopped listening. "Seriously?" she asked herself as she walked away from the hydrangeas and the couple behind them. "Girls actually fall for that?"

She walked off to observe how Hikaru and Kaoru were doing with their guests. They were playing a game, one that Kaoru was losing.

"Sorry, Kaoru!" the girls said while laughing at his misfortunate attempt at playing the game.

"No way! I lost again?" Kaoru said, still trying to match up the seashells.

"Go easy on him princesses." Hikaru said to the rescue of his brother. "Kaoru is quite the crybaby."

"Here we go." Reika whispered to herself as she waited for the twins' performance.

"Hikaru, that's not true!" Kaoru said, but despite his argument his voice sounded like he was near tears. "I am not a cryba-."

Hikaru grabbed his brother's chin. "Ah, so you're going to deny it, huh?" he said while his brother blushed. "How about when the two of us are alone playing punishment games? Tell us what happens then, Kaoru."

"But that's because you-" Kaoru didn't get to finish as Hikaru traced two fingers up and down his brother's throat.

"Ah!" the girls screamed excited. "What happens?! What happens?!"

"And there it is." Reika said laughing as she shook her head at the reaction of the girls. She made a note of it in her notebook and moved on to Kyoya and his guests.

Kyoya rarely hosted guests, today it was to keep Tamaki's other guests occupied while Tamaki gave each of the girls some time alone with him. At any normal circumstances, Kyoya would have preferred to be taking notes rather than teaching his guests about the stream, but since Reika was doing his job he didn't worry.

"I had it specially made for all of you, hoping it would express my desire to spend all four season with you." he said as he talked about the stream, while he had other intentions in mind when he pulled out his notebook. "So then, what do you say, ladies? This fall there's an autumn leaves tea party with a limited number of invitations."

"Oh, sign me up!" the girls said immediately.

"Great." Kyoya said writing down their names. When he looked up he saw Reika rolling her eyes as she wrote on her own notebook, she looked up at him and gave him a thumbs up as smiling before she moved on to Honey and Mori.

Reika saw the two friends tried to work other as one. Mori was the arms and the body while Honey was the mouth that Mori was trying to feed soba to. She genuinely laughed, amused at the upperclassmen's antics. She had seen them practice the same thing hundreds of times, but to make things look more adorable, Mori was purposely missing Honey's mouth as he tried to feed the blond boy.

"He's so cute!" the girl shriek.

Reika moved past the cute duo and tried to find where Haruhi had gone off to. She found the younger girl in the middle of the hydrangeas looking peaceful and pensive. Haruhi and Tamaki had a lot more in common than they knew.

"Are you taking a break?" Reika asked as she closed her notebook.

"Yeah, I was just thinking about how I'm finally getting used to all this." Haruhi said.

Reika laughed. "In between all the drama, costumes, and the crazy ideas that Tamaki and Kyoya come up with, I don't think I'll ever get used to it." she said. Haruhi laughed with her.

"Haruhi, duck!" Tamaki said frantically, and out of nowhere, as he came charging in through the hydrangeas. A soccer ball was just about to hit Haruhi, but Tamaki jumped on top of her, making them both fall on the ground before the ball hit either of them.

Reika looked around for them as the dust settled down. "Are you guys okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine, I think." Haruhi said to her friend while Tamaki stood up with anger in his eyes that surprised both the girls.

"Hikaru!" Tamaki yelled. "You came this close to snuffing out the light of Haruhi's life!"

"That would have sounded more convincing if you weren't stepping on her." Reika said while pushing Tamaki off of Haruhi and helping her friend up.

"Hey, it's your fault for not catching the ball in the first place, boss." Hikaru said while he and his brother shrugged simultaneously.

"Yeah, who knew he would be so bad at kamadi." Kaoru said. "So much for him being the genchi of Ouran Academy." he said, making Tamaki angrier than he was before.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Reika asked pulling out a first-aid kit.

"It's okay." Haruhi said. "I'm getting used to that too. Hey, why do you have a first-aid kit with you?"

Reika rolled her eyes. "Kyoya made me carry this around when I was taking notes, in case something happened to one of our guest." she said.

"Ah," Haruhi said nodding. "Knowing Kyoya-senpai, it probably has a bug on it."

Reika laughed. "I already checked." she said shrugging it off.

"Of course you did." Haruhi said. "Did you find any?"

"Surprisingly, no." Reika said. "Which means he probably trust me a lot more now."

"That's good." Haruhi said.

"Well, check this out!" Tamaki said to the twins, trying to end the argument that Reika and Haruhi were talking over. He set up the ball and prepared to kick. "Star-line kick!" he yelled, the ball went up with velocity and power.

"What?!" Hikaru said. "So fast!" Kaoru said as the ball heading towards them. And since it was Tamaki who kicked it, it went up and far away. "Take care of yourself!" the twins said while waving to the ball as it sailed over the school building. "Bye."

Tamaki soaked while Reika's eyes went wide with surprise. "I better check on where that ball went." she said pulling out her cell phone and going to find Kyoya.

She found Kyoya when he was getting off the phone. "I just go the strangest call," he told Reika when he saw her. "Apparently a soccer ball flew through the widow of the Newspaper Club and hit the president on the head."

Reika cringed. "That might have been Tamaki's soccer ball." she told him.

Kyoya sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Well, we need to go to the Newspaper Club and apologize." he said.

"Of course." Reika said. "I'll go gather everyone."

* * *

The Host Club entered the Newspaper Club. Tamaki went in first followed by Kyoya and Reika, Haruhi and the twins, Honey and Mori entered last.

"Really, we're terribly sorry about that." Tamaki apologized to Akira Komatsuzawa, the president of the Newspaper Club, the one who was hit in the head by Tamaki's soccer ball.

Most of the Host Club members had made themselves useful while Tamaki was apologizing. Haruhi, Honey, and Mori were sweeping up the glass shards. The twins were looking over the Newspaper Club's newspaper articles, while Kyoya and Reika stood behind Tamaki.

"Don't worry, it's no big deal." Komatsuzawa said, being more polite than both Kyoya and Reika knew he really was. "Could've happened to anyone, right? Just a ball flying through a window and hitting me upside the head."

Tamaki was feeling guilty, unaware that he was being manipulated. "Please, accept our apology." he said nervously.

"Well, this works out perfectly," Komatsuzawa said making both Reika and Kyoya look at each other worriedly. "I was just thinking about approaching the Host Club about a cover story. I don't suppose you would be interested."

"I didn't know we had a Newspaper Club." Reika heard Haruhi say.

"It's more gossip rag than newspaper." Hikaru said, while he and his brother held up the newspapers they were reading.

"Yeah, like a trashy tabloid." Kaoru agreed. "It's filled with stories about scandalous love affairs, family power struggles, and junk like that."

Reika noticed one of the newspaper stacks next to her. Her eyes widened at one particular story that made her stop breathing.

"It's just a lame gossip rag that specializes in stirring up scandals." Hikaru said. Reika picked up the newspaper and showed it to Kyoya.

His eyes widened in surprise that he barely had any time to shift back to his neutral facial expression and hide the newspaper behind him.

"And everyone knows it's all lies." the twins said together.

"Nothing but lies." Reika mouthed the words sarcastically to Kyoya, who motioned for her not to panic.

"So nobody reads it anymore." the twins finished together, making Komatsuzawa jump from his chair offended.

"You know, I guess we kind of have lost sight of the truth," Komatsuzawa said. "Because we've been so worried about bringing in more readers." he looked down pensively. "It's a shame we just now realized our error, now that the paper is at risk."

Tamaki looked surprised and worried. _Uh-oh._ Reika thought.

"We finally realized what we should have been reporting to the students of Ouran." Komatsuzawa continued before him and his two fellow club members bowed. "Help us, please. For our last paper of the semester, we would like to do an up close special edition revealing the charms of Ouran's Host Club members. I'm begging you, without your help our club will close."

Tamaki chuckled, wiping the hair out of his eyes. "You can count on us." he said, taking everyone by surprise as he played his beloved role as the knight in shining armor. He bowed. "On behalf of the Host Club I-"

Kyoya pushed Tamaki out of the way, keeping him from finishing. "We'll have to decline." Kyoya said, smiling politely. Reika breathed out in relief.

"But Kyoya, he got hurt because of me!" Tamaki said outraged. "What's the big deal, huh? So they want to do a story on us..." he trailed on.

"Sorry, we have a policy prohibiting us from sharing any personal information to anyone other than our guests. But we would be more than happy to pay any medical expenses related to your injury." Kyoya explained while holding Tamaki back.

"And another thing," Kaoru said. "What makes you think we want to help you spread more rumors and gossip. We have a reputation to uphold and you'd just ruin it."

"Besides you guys cause a lot of trouble for other people." Hikaru said. "And who would want to get mixed up in that?"

Reika looked at the ceiling to prevent herself from laughing as she thought about how hypocritical it was for Hikaru to say that.

"I understand." Komatsuzawa said over-dramatically as he slumped in his chair. "Well, I guess you really can't erase the sins of the past, can you? People won't even give you the opportunity to try and redeem yourself. Oh, my head is killing me!"

"President!" the Newspaper Club members said in union with genuine concern as they checked on their president.

"I'm okay." Komatsuzawa said like he was in between tears to try and bring the rest of the Host Club members to his side. "Don't worry you two. Oh, no! I'm getting dizzy again."

"President!"

"No, wait, I'm fine. Ah!"

"President!"

"I guess all we can do at this point is disband with grace."

"No, you don't have to." Tamaki said, making the Newspaper Club members look up and listen. "You can always make a fresh start, we'll help. We will rally the power of our Host Club and we can re-establish the Newspaper Club together!"

"Well, count us out." the twins said as they dragged Haruhi out the door.

"You're way too trusting boss, we can't go along with everything you do forever." Hikaru said.

"Yeah, we've had enough." Kaoru said.

"We're leaving too, Tamaki." Kyoya called back to Tamaki as he and the rest of the Host Club went towards the door. "We're holding an evaluation meeting. Mostly about you."

"Sorry, Tamaki." Reika said without turning around.

"Hold it." Tamaki said, making them all stop. "How can you be so heartless. These men are about to lose their club, don't you feel sorry for them?" he turned around with sympathetic tears in his eyes. "Their family is breaking up. As your president I demand you help them and that is a direct order!"

Everything stood still until the twins, Kyoya, and Reika turned back and glared at Tamaki. "We're not going to do it!" they said together.

* * *

Later that same day, the Host Club went back to Music Room #3. Tamaki was still pouting about the club members refusing to do what he asked them to do. Mori and Honey were having tea like any other day. The twins were playing around with Haruhi, making her laugh which just made Tamaki sulk even more.

"Should we even talk about it?" Reika whispered to Kyoya as they were typing on their laptops like usually. "While they're here?"

"They are all too preoccupied to listen." Kyoya told her in his usual calm tone. He took out the newspaper and laid it on the table. "And we have nothing to worry about."

"Nothing to worry about?" Reika asked him outraged. "This literally spells out the fact that we are- you know." she said looking around to the other members who still didn't know.

"Engaged?" he finished her sentence. Her eyes widened at his cavalier way of approaching the subject.

"Shh!" she said, her worry made him smile involuntarily. "Now what are we going to do about this? You know at some point you're going to give in to his wishes."

"I most certainly will not!" he said, making her give him a dubious face.

"Yes, you will. You know you will and so does everyone else." she said. "If we want to keep this," she pointed at newspaper. "From being taken seriously instead of the joke the Newspaper Club is, we have to think of something."

"You're worrying far too much about this." he said. "Not even the person who wrote that article believes it's true."

"Did you check the date?" she asked him.

"Yes, it's from the latest edition." he said, still not as concerned as he should have been, at least not on the outside. "It's just a coincidence."

She sighed, defeated. She knew he cared more about this than he was willing to show her, she relaxed because she also knew that he would take care of it.

"Come on," she said standing up and motioning for the rest of the Host Club to join her. "I'm getting worried about Tamaki."

They watched their 'fearless' leader play around with the soccer ball that hit Komatsuzawa in the head while soaking in a corner.

"Well, he's obviously upset with us." Hikaru said.

"Yeah, he hasn't even changed clothes." Kaoru said.

"I hate it when he ignores us when we're right in front of him," Kyoya said. "He's such a child."

"Nah, Tama-chan is just a lonely guy, you know." Honey said from his tea table with Mori.

"A club is like a family, their family is about to be broken up. I feel sorry for them." Tamaki mumbled.

Haruhi sighed. "I hate to give in, but would it really be that bad to help them out with their newspaper?" she asked. Reika smiled to herself.

"What?" Hikaru said surprised.

"Since when are you taking his side?" Kaoru asked.

"Since never." Haruhi cleared up. "Just listen, okay, I know any moment now he's gonna look over here with those puppy dog eyes that he uses when he wants something, and none of us will be able to say no and so he'll win."

"Let me guess," the twins said together. "You're speaking from experience. Aren't you?"

"Ah," Haruhi said, thinking better before answering. "Besides, maybe I'm wrong but isn't this the kind of thing you guys usually go for?"

"Well, no." the twins said. "This seems like more trouble than it's worth."

"What about you, Honey-senpai?" she asked.

"Count me out." he said. "And I have this cake to eat and Takashi sticks with me, right?"

Mori grunted in agreement.

Haruhi looked over at Tamaki. Tamaki looked back at her and everyone else with his puppy dog eyes.

Reika held in a laugh as Kyoya fixed his glasses, falling prey to the puppy dog eyes. "There will be some conditions." he said, making Tamaki look up. "The outline for their article will be submitted by us, interviews are strictly prohibited, it's vital that our client's identities is kept confidential, and any mention of Reika will be excluded from the article. Do we agree?" Tamaki barked in agreement.

"Well, if you think it's cool, Kyoya-senpai." Hikaru started. "Then we do too." Kaoru finished.

"I'll do since Kyo-chan says it's okay." Honey said with a bright smile. Mori grunted in agreement.

"What about you, Haruhi?" Kyoya asked, smiling.

"Since everyone agrees there's no point me disagreeing." she said. "But why are you blocking Reika from the article? Isn't she a part of the club too?"

"Given the Newspaper Club's history with starting rumors, it would be best if Reika's name is not mentioned." Kyoya said shutting his folder. "If that's all, I should tell the Newspaper Club that we agree to do their article." he walked off into the closet and getting a first-aid kit out. "Are you coming, Reika?" he asked from the door.

"Sure." she said excusing herself from the Host members. Kyoya handed her the first-aid kit as they started to walk to the door.

It didn't take long for them to reach the Newspaper Club. Kyoya knocked on the door and they were let in.

"What brings you here, Ootori?" Komatsuzawa asked as they approached his desk.

"This is my assistant, Reika Niigata." Kyoya introduced her.

"Pleasure to meet you." Komatsuzawa said to her. He looked from Kyoya to Reika, a hidden smile on his mind.

"Like wise." she said, though not meaning it.

"I would like to formally accept your offer to cover the Host Club." Kyoya said politely. "That is, if you follow our conditions."

"Of course!" Komatsuzawa agreed. "If you'll allow us to cover you, we promise to observe your conditions."

"Well, then you may start tomorrow." Kyoya said.

"Excellent!" Komatsuzawa said.

There was a pause. "So how is that bump on your forehead feeling?" Kyoya asked.

"Oh, that." Komatsuzawa brushed it off, like he wasn't fake fainting only a few hours ago. "It's no big deal, I hardly feel it anymore. I owe a lot to this bump, because without it we would never have come together for this article."

"That's true, but we're still very sorry it happened." Kyoya said smiling. He motioned for Reika to give him the box. "I brought you something as an apology of sorts. This is a first-aid kit made by my family's company."

"Thank you." Komatsuzawa said, politely grateful. "I appreciate it."

"No problem, please excuse us." Kyoya said, as he and Reika turned to leave.

"Oh, it just dawned on me." Komatsuzawa said, making them stop. "Your family runs the Ootori Group, right? They manufacture medical equipment, don't they?"

"We mostly deal with hospital management." Kyoya said turning around.

"And, Niigata, your family owns the Niigata Enterprises, correct?" Komatsuzawa asked. "Don't they deal with security services?"

"That's right." she said, her voice as leveled as Kyoya's.

"I do find it interesting how two very different companies would be making such a big investment in each other." Komatsuzawa taunted, wanting them to know that he knew.

"How did you acquire that information?" Kyoya asked, still smiling politely.

"My father is a president as well, of the Komatsuzawa Publishing Firm." Komatsuzawa said.

"Yes, I am well aware of that." Kyoya said. "So being president of the Newspaper Club is your way of preparing to take over the family company?"

"Yes, to an extent." Komatsuzawa said. "But I have this younger brother, he's a bright young man, and my father is very proud of him you see. So now my father has decided to turn future management of the company to my younger brother." there was a lot of resentment in his voice. "And thereby passing over me. The eldest son, firstborn. However, if I'm able to finish my third year at Ouran Academy as the president of a successful newspaper club, I think he might reconsider my canadency as his successor. Do you understand? I cannot allow this club to fall apart, no matter what."

"Please excuse us." Kyoya said, walking away with Reika.

"Are you okay?" Reika asked him as they exited the Newspaper Club.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that? He does know, after all." Kyoya said.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it." she told him. "Right now, I want to know if you are okay."

"Why won't I be?" he asked her, he smiled but it was a fake one.

"Don't pull that with me." she told him, taking him by surprise. "I know you are in a similar position with wanting to take over your father's company. I know that can't be easy, being the third son and all. But I want you to know that whatever comes, I'll be right here."

He looked at her and took in all that she said. "T-thank you." he stuttered out gratitude before looking away from her, embarrassed at his sudden insecurity.

She smiled, sighing. "What type of assistant would I be if I didn't help out my boss." she joked. "Especially when my boss is actually my fiance."

He smiled at her. "Do you think we got enough evidence?" he asked her.

"From the bug in the first-aid kit?" she asked not at all surprised. "I think so, but if we leave in there he might say a lot more incriminating stuff."

"You have a point." he said. "Well, I guess we'll have to go through with the article tomorrow."

"It'll be okay." she assured him as they headed back to Music Room #3.

"I hope you're right." he admitted.

* * *

The next day, when classes were let out, the Host Club meet outside in the gardens near the hedge maze.

Reika sat in the shade while she bemusedly observed the Host Club members while they planned commoner games. She laughed at the Newspaper Club's reaction to just what they were covering for their newspaper. Tamaki was looking away while singing as the other club members slowly got closer to him. Reika had no idea as to what this game was, but it was sure entertaining to watch, especially when Kyoya joined them.

"You need to learn friendliness!" Tamaki yelled at the Newspaper Club when they questioned his motives for playing silly games, Reika started to pay attention. "If you want to clear the negative reputation of the Newspaper Club, and attempt to capture the hearts of your readers, you must try to be more down to earth! I can just imagine the headlines now, the handsome boys of the Host Club enjoy commoner's games. With pictures of us frolicking in the scenery of early summer."

Reika was almost died laughing from his speech. It had just the right amount of whatever Tamaki was made of. Some of the things he said were true, she had to admit it was good advice, if only they would take it instead of trying to sabotage the Host Club.

"It would be the perfect face lift for your front page." Tamaki continued. "And it gives you the chance to show that a certain commoner is happier now reliving his childhood here with us!"

Reika smiled. "Of course." she whispered amused, as Tamaki waved at Haruhi and Haruhi looked annoyed.

Tamaki continued playing his game, this time he finally 'caught' Kyoya moving. Komatsuzawa called Haruhi over, making Reika slightly worried. Kyoya caught her eyes, he motioned for her not to worry. She nodded and continued to watch Tamaki play his game, which he soon got bored with and decided to play a new game.

This time Kyoya was it, which made Reika stand up and watch.

"Star-line kick!" Tamaki said as he kicked the can. The can bounced around, almost hitting Komatsuzawa in the head again.

Reika laughed as she joined Kyoya on the field as the others ran to hide while the can was still bouncing off of trees. The can finally stopped when it _did_ hit Komatsuzawa on the head.

"Oh," she cringed she and Kyoya watched Komatsuzawa fall to the floor. "That's gotta hurt."

Kyoya crouched down on the grass, making the smashed can stand still. He looked at Reika. "Is everything set?" he whispered to her before he started to count.

"Yep." she said when Komatsuzawa and his club members started to leave. "Good job, boss." she said giving him a thumbs up as he smiled triumphantly.

"Tamaki took Haruhi with him?" Kyoya asked.

"Of course he did." Reika answered. "He took her to the hedge maze, you know he's not getting out of there soon."

"Good." he said. "Then let's find the others and head to the Newspaper Club."

They didn't have to wait long, as they heard the commotion that Komatsuzawa was causing outside the door. "I'm going to expose Tamaki for the twit he is." he said as he opened the door. He and his club members were surprised to find the twins sitting on their desk.

"Hum." Hikaru said, acknowledging that they heard everything.

"So we were right all along." Kaoru said.

"You two." Komatsuzawa said.

"Well, I guess it was pretty obvious." Hikaru admitted, smiling.

"The boss is the only one who hasn't caught on yet." Kaoru said with the same smile. "He can be really dense when it pertains to anything about himself."

"I should warn you." Hikaru said. "If you threaten him, there will be consequences."

"Are you ready the Hitachiins and every other club member's family as your enemy?" Kaoru asked.

"I knew it!" Komatsuzawa said nervous but deciding to show anger instead. "You're nothing but his lackeys, Tamaki's holding his family's power over all of you."

"That's not true." Honey said from behind Komatsuzawa with Mori by his side. "We don't hang out with Tama-chan because of his parents'. We love him. We love being around him and that's why we chose to be here."

"He may be a hopeless idiot, but even so." Kyoya said, calling attention to his place sitting on top of the newspaper stacks with Reika standing below him.

"Everything he does he puts his whole heart in it, and that's why we would do anything for him because he would do the same thing for any of us." Reika said.

The club members collectively remembered how kind Tamaki was when he invited each of them to join the Host Club, making them all into a family.

"Well?" Hikaru asked.

"What will you do?" Kaoru asked.

"Please leave Tama-chan alone, okay?" Honey asked.

"I'll get you all," Komatsuzawa said. "It's not just about him anymore I'll write an article that will ruin all of you!"

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Reika asked him, her voice was serious as she distracted Komatsuzawa as Kyoya got the the disc out of the first-aid kit. "Because the Niigata family takes security and reputation very seriously. I wonder what my mother would do to you if she heard you making those threats?"

"Now, now, Reika." Kyoya said more amused than he should have been. "There's no need to bring your mother into this." he held up the disc and turned to Komatsuzawa. "Although, what do you think we should do about this little disc? You see it's been here since yesterday and it recorded everything."

"President!" the Newspaper Club members said as they hid behind Komatsuzawa. "Just give up already." Komatsuzawa fell to his knees, defeated.

"Let me explain in terms you will understand," Kyoya said walking up to Komatsuzawa. "You would do well to remember that the Ootori Group, the Hitachiin family, and now with Niigata Enterprises and all of their other companies, as you so admirably pointed out earlier have invested in the Ootori Group, alone owe enough stock to remove your father from his position as president of the Komatsuzawa Publishing Firm." he said, stopping to fix his glasses. "However, we would never do something like that, we are not like you. What we strive for is fundamentally different."

* * *

Later that day, when everything was sorted out, Reika was in Music Room #3 reading when Kyoya walked in and slid a paper over for her to read.

"What's this?" she asked, putting her book down.

"A signed contract, stating that the Newspaper Club will not be publishing any articles or divulging a word to anyone about our engagement." he said, sitting down opposite her on the table. "Now you don't have to worry about that anymore."

She read over the contract as he waited patiently. "What did you have to do to get this?" she asked him.

"I promised to no longer interfere or threaten the Newspaper Club and it's members again." he said smiling.

She let out a chuckle. "You really had him going when you said you would remove his father out of his president position." she said.

"I could've done it if I wanted to." he said shrugging.

"No, you couldn't." she told him, shaking her head as she put the contract in a safe place.

"My father would have love the excuse." he said, following after her, wanting to prove to her that he was right.

"That's not what I meant." she said looking back at him as she put the contract in the cabinet file.

"Then what did you mean?" he asked, curious. Which wasn't something he often felt, but he started to feel more and more curious whenever Reika was involved.

She closed the cabinet file and turned to face him. "That you're not the type of person to do that to someone's family. You're not as petty as half the people in this school who would have done it for a lot less than what you threatened him for." she explained. "You're too good of a person for that."

"I am not a good person." he said seriously.

She put a hand on his shoulder, looking into his eyes as she smiled. "Yes, you are." she said. "And it's about time that you start believing it too, because you're not the monster you think you are."

He stood there, staring at her. He understood her words, but none of them seemed to make any sense to him. Did she really believe that? And because she believed it, was it true? He didn't know what to say, or what to do, so he just stared at her in disbelief. The thoughts that usually clouded his mind were gone as he just stood there like an idiot.

She saw that he seemed to be taken aback, and she smiled brighter as she let out a laugh before deciding to help him out. "I'm going to get dinner, do you want the same thing as always?"

"Um." he said, still at a loss for words. She waited patiently. "Yes." he said finally, making her smile again as she exited the room.


	13. Who Loses First!

**Chapter 13**

**Who Loses First?!/The Refreshing Battle of Karuizawa!**

* * *

**Two Weeks Ago…**

Haruhi and Reika were at the local library studying for the upcoming mid-terms. After hours of hard work they decided to take a break.

"Hey, what are doing during summer vacation?" Haruhi asked Reika when she returned with two cans of coffee.

"I don't really have any plans." Reika said. "Why? Did you have something in mind?"

"Well, every summer my dad sends me to Karuizawa to help one his friends at his pension." Haruhi said. "You could come with me if you'd like."

"I would like that." Reika said smiling. "But I do have one condition."

"Okay," Haruhi said, thrilled that she would have someone to go with her. "What is it?"

"I want to work too." Reika said.

"Really?" Haruhi asked surprised.

"Yes, of course." Reika said. "It would be a great experience."

"Do you even have any work experience?" Haruhi asked concerned.

"Don't worry, I'm a fast learned." Reika reassured her friend.

"Great!" Haruhi said. "I'll call Misuzu, and tell him. He'll be grateful to have the help."

* * *

**Now…**

Reika and Haruhi had been working very hard ever since they arrived at Misuzu's pension in Karuizawa. To Haruhi's surprise, Reika really was a fast learner and the two girls were having a great time together learning a lot about each other.

Their fun, however, was interrupted when a helicopter carrying the Host Club members landed on the field near the pension where Haruhi was doing laundry.

"Oh, my!" Misuzu exclaimed when she saw the Host Club boys. "What dashing young men you are. These hunks must belong to Haruhi!" Needless to say, most of the club members were surprised. "Why don't you call me Misuzu-chi."

"He's an old friend of Ranka, they used to work together at the same shop years ago." Kyoya explained, the Host Club members were not as surprised as they should have been.

"Well, naturally you would know." Tamaki said, slightly ticked off that Kyoya knew so much about Haruhi's life.

"Kill me." Haruhi said to herself.

"I went into business for myself two years ago and believe you me, running this adorable little pension is like living a fairytale!" Misuzu said excited as he twirled around.

"So, then is Haru-chan like your indentured servant?" Honey asked in usual adorable way.

"She's more like an unpaid employee." Kyoya explained further. "These also happens to be Ranka's prefered method for keeping track of his daughter while he's busy working."

"What the-" Tamaki said getting really close to Kyoya's face as he wondered how on earth Kyoya knew all that. "How do you know all of this stuff?"

"What's with all the noise." they heard a familiar voice (and sleepy) voice come from upstairs.

"Now everything makes sense." Tamaki said when he saw Reika upstairs in her night clothes as she yawned.

"Reika-senpai?" the twins asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Working." she said stretching her tired muscles. She yawned again, rubbing the sleep off her eyes. "You guys got here earlier than I expected."

"You knew they were coming?!" Haruhi asked.

"Yeah, Kyoya called a few hours ago." Reika said.

"Why did you tell him I was here, and all that other stuff?" Haruhi asked, feeling slightly betrayed.

Reika gave her a confused look. "What other stuff?" she asked, looking at Kyoya.

He fixed his glasses. "I might have called Ranka and asked about the circumstances of the place you were going to work." he admitted. "It pays to be informed, you know."

"Aw, Kyo-chan were you worried about Rei-chan?" Honey asked.

"Of course I worry," Kyoya said. "If she were mauled by a bear or got lost in the woods I wouldn't have anyone to get me dinner."

Everyone glared at Kyoya for his twisted sense of humor. Meanwhile, Reika smiled and laughed. "I'm glad to see you're concerned." she said, heading back to her room. "I better change, my shift starts in a few minutes."

"Haruhi and Reika are such terrific workers!" Misuzu praised. "It's such a shame I can't pay them anything. Oh!" she said grabbing Haruhi and turning her around. "Tell me what you boys think of this cute little apron she's wearing. I made it myself!"

"You are quite the exquisite seamstress!" Tamaki said, trying to earn some points.

"Kill me now." Haruhi said to herself.

"Haruhi! Why don't you take these handsome fellows outside for some tea?" Misuzu said, ignoring Haruhi's comment. "You young people go ahead, I'll send Reika with the tea so she can join you too."

"A job, huh." Hikaru said to Haruhi when they settled down outside. "I don't get it, you turned down our invitation to Bali, for this?"

"And we even asked her to go with us to Switzerland, didn't we?" Honey asked Mori.

"We did." Mori agreed.

"Yeah, well I still don't have a passport, remember?" Haruhi said.

"Which is precisely why I recommended one of our domestic resorts, and at a discount, no less." Kyoya inputed.

"Or you could have just gone with her to get a passport and then asked if she wanted to go some place like I did." Reika put in. "But even then, she would prefer to be here."

"Where were you planning to go?" Kyoya asked her, ignoring Tamaki as he once again sulking about Haruhi.

"Is not really a plan." Reika explained. "Around this time my mother and I always go to Brazil to inspect our Niigata Enterprises' headquarters."

"I didn't know that." Kyoya said confused. "How long will be gone?"

"A month or two after summer vacation is over." Reika said.

"Interesting." Kyoya said pensively.

"What?" she asked worried, more about herself than him.

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with yet." he said.

"Now I'm really worried." she said, while he gave her a playful smile. They stayed quiet after, both trying to figure out what the other was thinking.

"Why are you even here?" they heard Haruhi ask Tamaki. "I'm going to have to see you guys everyday when the new term starts. Don't I have the right to spend my summer vacation the way I want to."

"She has a point." Reika said. "There was a reason why we didn't tell we would be here. Haruhi and I want to spend some time together before I leave that doesn't have to do with the Host Club or school."

Kyoya's face darken as he opened his Ouran Academy student handbook. "According to the handbook, jobs are prohibited."

"Um- I- um." Haruhi was cornered. "I had no idea."

"Hey, did you hear?" Hikaru asked his brother with a devilish smile on his face. "Haruhi and Reika-senpai went and got jobs without the school's permission."

"No way." Kaoru said with the same expression. "That's grounds for expulsion."

"Are you serious about this?" Reika challenged Kyoya.

"Very." he said, with a smile that made the twins' smiles look like giggling angels.

Reika fumed while Haruhi looked scared and annoyed at the same time.

"I think Karuizawa is way better than Switzerland anyway." Honey said playing along. Mori nodded in agreement.

"And overseas travel is so exhausting." Kyoya put in.

"Of course, you girls do have the right to spend your summer vacation as you please." Tamaki said. "But then again, like it or not, so do we. And you know, I for one find Pension Misuzu to be exceptionally charming."

Reika could just imagine Haruhi screaming in her head as her friend's eye simply twitched after Tamaki was done talking. Reika gave Haruhi a pat on the back.

"Come on, we can survive them." Reika tried to cheer Haruhi up.

"Are you sure?" Haruhi whimpered.

"Of course!" Reika said, saying it more for the benefit of her friend. She was still very worried about what Kyoya had in mind, and if he wasn't in a sharing mood with her, then it could be anything. "And I'll be right by your side."

"Thank you, Reika." Haruhi said, truly grateful.

* * *

"We would each like a room in your fine establishment." Tamaki said to Misuzu at the front desk, the rest of the boys behind him.

"I'm so sorry boys," Misuzu said. "I'd love to have you all as guests! But I'm afraid there's only one vacant room left."

"Only one room, you say." Tamaki said. "Well, that settles it. I'll have to stay here to represent the Host Club."

"Hey, that isn't fair." Honey said.

"Have you no feeling of loyalty?" Hikaru asked. "Of any solidarity, boss?"

"Togetherness is our guiding principle." Kaoru pointed out, making Tamaki feel very contradicted. Which was, after all, the twins' plan.

"My own words twisted and thrown right back in my face." Tamaki said gloomily.

"Here's an idea, we bet you'll like it." Hikaru proposed. "Why not hold a little competition?"

"Call it, The Guest Relations Odd Jobs Contest at Pension Misuzu." Kaoru introduced.

"It's very simple, we all just lend a hand around the place for the afternoon." Hikaru started explained.

"And whomever makes the best impression on Misuzu-chi gets to sleep in the vacant guest bedroom." Kaoru finished.

"That's brilliant!" Misuzu said in excitement and joy. "I think it's an absolutely delightful idea. Yes. The winner of the contest will be determined by how refreshing they are. Remember, refreshing is the name of the game in guest relations."

"Refreshing! Refreshing, yay!" the twins chanted in agreement.

"Now don't think this will be a walk in the park," Misuzu warned. "Because I'm planning on working you boys to the bone!"

"Sounds like a blast." Haruhi moped.

"Come on," Reika tried to cheer her friend up. "Think about how entertaining this will be to watch."

"But we have things to do." Haruhi said.

"Not anymore, we don't." Reika beemed.

Before Haruhi could ask why not, Misuzu walked outside with a smile on her face as she encountered the girls talking. "I am very impressed will all the work you girls got done." Misuzu commended. "And so fast too. You girls deserve a break after doing such hard work!"

"But I-" Haruhi tried to explain, but Reika interrupted her.

"There is no need to thank us," Reika said, smiling kindling as she kept Haruhi from talking. "Your hospitality is more than enough."

"You are such a jewel, Reika!" Misuzu praised as she went back inside.

"Why did you do that for?" Haruhi asked her friend.

"Now that the boys are here we won't get much time to ourselves." Reika explained. "So while they're busy fighting over the room, we get a moment of peace before everything gets hectic. You know as well as I do that nothing will stop them from coming back here."

"I see your point." Haruhi said pensively.

"Good, now come on." Reika said smiling as she pulled Haruhi to the table where Kyoya was sitting. "Sit here, and I'll be right back with some more tea."

"Kyoya-senpai." Haruhi said to the other person sitting on the table. "You're keeping your distance from all this."

"Of course." Kyoya replied simply. "I have other things in mind besides this silly contest. I'll just sit back and let things unfold to my favor, then head for the cottage."

"The cottage?" Haruhi asked, confused. "You mean, your family's?"

"That's right." Kyoya said. "We all have one in the area."

"Then why make such a fuss about staying here?" Haruhi wondered out loud.

"I think it's obvious." Kyoya said smiling to himself.

"It's obvious to me too." Reika said as she returned with the tea, pouring them in three different cups as she and Kyoya shared a knowing smile.

It was clear to them why the boys wanted to stay at Misuzu's pension, but poor Haruhi was very clueless when it came to things about herself. She and Tamaki also had that in common. Haruhi gave the Kyoya and Reika a confused look.

"So who is your favorite to win?" Kyoya asked Haruhi, changing the subject. "There must be someone you have in mind."

"I don't have a clue." Haruhi said.

"I think Tamaki has a higher chance." Reika said.

"Really?" Kyoya said interested. "It's easy enough to tell at a glance. Honey-senpai's brand of cute doesn't quite fit Misuzu's notion of refreshing, so I'm afraid he's out. Tamaki comes a little closer to the ideal, provided he keeps his mouth shut, but we all know the likelihood of that. Ordinarily, you would figure Hikaru and Kaoru. Then again, seems we have a dark horse."

Kyoya said as he gestured to where Mori was chopping up wood, looking good doing so. Even from the garden, the trio could see as girl went wild for Mori.

"So, then you think he's the one?" Haruhi asked.

"Except that if Honey-senpai drops out, Mori-senpai is bound to go along with him." Kyoya explained. "His competing in the game at all is more or less conditional to that."

"Which means," Hikaru started. "Victory will be ours." Kaoru said.

"I don't think so." Reika said to Kyoya as they both tuned out Haruhi's conversation with the twins. "Tamaki seems to always rise to challenge when it comes down to a certain club member."

"Do you care to bet?" Kyoya asked interested.

"What do I win if I do?" Reika asked, rising to the challenge.

Kyoya smiled, she was so easy to trap. "If you win I won't claim that favor I asked of you when we played the truth game." he said, making her smile.

"Alright, I agree." she said confidently.

"But if you lose," Kyoya added purposely after she agreed. "Then you give your room up at the pension to Tamaki and come stay with me at my family's cottage."

Reika's eyes narrowed slightly at his proposition. "Is this what you were planning before?" she asked him.

"Why, Reika?" he taunted her as he offered his hand to make the deal official. "Are you scared?"

"Of losing?" she scoffed, taking his hand. "Never."

"Good." he said smirking as they shook hands. "It's a bet."

* * *

After getting some more work done, Reika went out to the yard to see how Tamaki was doing with the fence mending duties that Misuzu assigned him. When she got outside, she was very surprised at how bad the fence looked.

"Tamaki," Reika said when she overcame her shock. "Have you ever had a job before?"

"No." Tamaki said. "But it looks good, doesn't it? All in a day's work."

"Um…" Reika started, but Misuzu spoke before Reika could.

"Oh, your repairs are totally unrefreshing," Misuzu said disappointed. "Three point deduction!"

Tamaki let out a partially internal scream before he curled up into a ball and sulked for a while.

"He used up so much energy trying to be refreshing that his work suffered for it." Haruhi commented, unimpressed. "Is he alright in the head?"

Kyoya sneaked up behind them. "He's never had an actual job before, you know." he said before smugly walking over to Reika. "Are you sure you won't lose now?"

Reika smiled at him, besides how infuriated she was by his goading. "You know I always have a card up my sleeve." she told him. "I won't lose this bet."

"We'll see about that." Kyoya told her with the same complacent smile as before.

"What bet?" Haruhi asked Reika, curious.

"Nothing you have to worry about, I won't lose this." Reika said with enough conviction that it scared Haruhi into leaving her friend's side as soon as possible. Reika turned to the sulking boy. "Tamaki, do you want to win this?"

"I won't lose to those two idiots!" Tamaki told her. "Failure is not an option."

"That's it!" Reika said, her competitive side rearing it's ugly head.

"Haruhi's respect for me is on the line." he told himself.

"Exactly." Reika encouraged him.

"She has to understand that I am worthy of being considered part of her top five!" he shouted.

"Okay, that's less." Reika's encouraging attitude deflated.

"Reika, can't you see that her esteem for me as a father figure hangs in the balance?" Tamaki said.

"Oh, yes. Sure." she said playing along with his delusions for the time being. "But there is something only you can do, something that will make her esteem for you to rise higher than ever."

"Really?" he asked her, getting excited as he came almost too close to her face. "What is it that I have to do, Reika? Tell me and I will do it."

"Well," she said smiling as she looked over to the pension. "I couldn't help but notice that the pension has quite a lovely grand piano."

Tamaki's eyes shined as he smiled brightly. "Oh, I see what you're saying." he said.

After Reika's suggestion, it didn't take long for a group of admirers to flock around the pension as Tamaki played a beautiful song on the piano. Even Misuzu herself admitted that Tamaki's piano skills were quite refreshing.

"And that's how you win." Reika whispered triumphantly to Kyoya. "Victory is sweet."

"The game isn't over yet." Kyoya whispered back to her. She gave him a questioning look.

"Look out!" someone yelled from outside, Tamaki stopped playing the piano.

Suddenly, there was a crash. Everyone came rushing to the place where they heard the noises from. They found a broken flower vase, Kaoru and Haruhi were sprawled on the deck not too far from the broken vase. The crowd gasped.

"I'm so sorry, are you two alright?" a girl from the floor above asked in the middle of the silence.

"Don't worry, we're okay." Kaoru assured them, making the crowd breath in relief. "Right?" he asked Haruhi.

"Um, yeah." Haruhi said smiling. "Thanks, I'm fine."

"Kaoru!" Hikaru said, charging in to check on his beloved twin brother, making Kaoru realize he had a cut on his face. "You're hurt. Let me see."

"I'm fine." Kaoru assured his worried brother. "It's only a little cut." Hikaru rested his worried head on Kaoru's shoulder. "Hikaru?" Kaoru asked concerned.

"Don't scare me like that." Hikaru whispered.

"Hey, I'm sorry." Kaoru said. "Do you, forgive me?"

Hikaru looked up, smiled at his brother, his worries were gone as he was sure the Kaoru was okay. They touched foreheads, smiling at each other.

The moment was broken up by a touched Misuzu, who was crying tears of joy. "Bravo, bravo." Misuzu said between tears and giggles as he danced on the roof. "One hundred points for refreshing brotherly love! A perfect score! And the victory goes to, the Hitachiin brothers!"

Reika hung her head in shame as she now had to deal with Kyoya and his exalted smirk at her. Tamaki slammed his fingers on the piano.

"You didn't." Reika said, glaring at Kyoya who just shrugged in response.

"What were you saying about victory again?" Kyoya whispered in her ear, a taunting tone behind his voice. "Ah, yes. It is sweet."

"So begins the long, dark night of my soul." Tamaki whimpered.

"Why don't you tell him the good news, Reika." Kyoya said chuckling darkly. She glared at him.

"What good news?" Tamaki asked Reika.

"You get to stay at the pension." Reika said through gritted teeth.

"How come?!" Haruhi asked, worried. Very worried.

"Well, you see." Kyoya started to explain, the Host Club members came closer to listen. "Reika and I made a bet. One that she lost."

"What exactly was the bet?" the twins asked, slightly angry that they did all that for nothing if both them and Tamaki were going to stay at the pension anyway.

"If Reika lost, she would give up her room at the pension to Tamaki and she would come and stay with me at my family's cottage." Kyoya said.

Reika groaned. "Kill me now." she said to Haruhi, who understood her pain.

"Oh, thank you Kyoya!" Tamaki said cheerfully as he attempted to hug his friend.

"We went through all that," Kaoru started. "Just so you could whisk Reika off to your cottage?" Hikaru finished. "Now, why would you do that, Kyoya-senpai." they asked together with matching mischievous smiles.

"I have my reasons." Kyoya said fixing his glasses on his nose. "One of them being Reika's absence in the beginning of the new semester, that she was reluctant to tell me until today. Now we both have to work out a whole new schedule."

Reika groaned, so did the twins who were hoping that Kyoya's reasoning would be more scandalous than just work. Though, it didn't come as too much as a surprise.

"Well, don't let us stop you from working." Tamaki said, giving Reika her bags as he pushed her out the door with Kyoya.

"Wait-" Reika tried to wave goodbye to the Host Club members.

"There's no time for that, you have work to do." Tamaki said as he practically shoved Reika and Kyoya into the waiting car. "You go on ahead while I get settled in my new room. Bye now."

"Sometimes I really hate him." Reika fumed as the car drove away. Kyoya smiled at her reaction, not sure if she was talking about him or Tamaki. There was a silence before she spoke again. "Are we really going to do work?"

"Maybe." he said cryptically.

"Maybe?" she asked confused and worried. "You're not the type of person to say that. Are you feeling alright?"

Kyoya let out a laugh as she jokingly tried to take his temperature. "I'm great." he said, taking her hand off of his forehead.

"Then what are we really going to do?" she asked, intrigued.

"I need an excuse to stay at the cottage, instead of working full time this summer." he said simply. "Taking my new fiance on a vacation before she goes off to Brazil seems like the perfect justification."

She let out a laugh for his excuse. "Is that it?" she asked him. "And if we happened to run into some of our friends staying at the pension nearby, so be it, right?"

"Precisely." he agreed.

"I wished you would have just told me that instead of playing that silly game." she said.

"But that wouldn't be nearly as entertaining." he said smiling at her. "Don't you agree?"

"Well, I can't say that I liked losing." she admitted. "But it was for a higher cause. Right?"

He took her out, letting her save face after she lost the bet. "Right." he said. They stayed silent for the rest of the ride. "We're here." he said opening the door, letting his hand hold onto hers.

She blushed, taken aback by his sudden intimacy. "W-what are you doing?" she asked him as he lead her out of the car by their connected hands.

"We have to look convincing." he whispered in her ear as he pulled her out of the car. They looked at the staff that waited outside the cottage for them. "Right?"

"Right." she said recollecting herself as they walked on forward, still holding on to each other's hand.


	14. Leading to a Conflicting Goodbye!

**Chapter 14**

**Leading t**o a **Conflicting Goodbye!/Operation Haruhi and Hikaru's First Date!**

* * *

Reika woke up with a smile on her face that morning. Maybe it was the fact that the cottage's sheets were closer to her idea of comfort than the ones at Misuzu's Pension. Or maybe it was the fact that she became aware as to where she was. She recalled Kyoya taking her to his family's cottage last night, the feeling of his hand holding onto hers. She sighed, not sure how she should feel about that. They were engaged but they were also friends - colleagues - and if the rest of the Host Club found out, there was no telling what could happen.

She sighed again, getting out of the very comfortable bed. She quickly took a shower and changed clothes, getting ready to return to Misuzu's Pension for her last day of work. When she got around to the breakfast room, Kyoya was no where to be found.

"Do you know where Kyoya is?" Reika asked the maid when she was done eating breakfast.

"Master Kyoya is still asleep." the maid said, taking away the breakfast tray.

"Really?" Reika asked, checking her watch. "I didn't think that Kyoya would be one to sleep in." she said to herself, before her attention was back on the maid. "Would you mind if I checked on him?"

"Not at all, mistress." the maid said bowing respectfully.

"Thank you." Reika said bowing her head back at the maid. As Reika left in the direction of Kyoya's room, the rest of the maids came out of the kitchen.

"Do you really think that was a good idea?" another maid asked the first. "You know how Master Kyoya is in the morning."

"She'll have to find out one way or another." a third maid said shrugging. "She's the one who is going to to marry him."

"Yes, but somethings are better kept hidden until the wedding day." the second maid said, as all three maids followed Reika as she entered Kyoya's room.

"Do you think he'll be angry?" the first maid asked meekly.

"He's always angry in the morning." the second maid said as they continued to watch the door, waiting for it to burst open as Reika ran out in fear.

Reika walked into the dark room, finding it very cozy as she let her eyes adjust to the darkness. "Kyoya?" she said trying to look for him.

When her eyes started to adjust, she found him tangled up in his sheets as he continued to sleep peacefully. She let herself watch him sleep for a few minutes before she remembered that she had to wake him up.

"Hey, Kyoya," she said sitting on the corner of his bed. "It's time for you to wake up."

"No." he said half-asleep. His voice was direct and dismissive as to her suggestion for him to wake up.

"Come on, Kyoya." she pleaded with him. "I have to get to Misuzu's Pension, and so do you."

"No, we don't." he said still half-asleep and just as dismissive.

"Wake up." she said, her hand getting ready to shake him awake gently.

"No!" he shouted out of nowhere as he grabbed her arm, his eyes opened to intensely glare at her. She could still see the sleep in his eyes.

"What do you mean no?!" she asked him, her anger being infuriated by his. "Your eyes are already open. Now get out of bed!" she tried a logical approach, but he just kept glaring at her with distaste. She tried to pull on his arm to get him out of bed herself.

Sleepy Kyoya, however, had other plans as he flipped her onto the bed. She shriek, surprised as he pinned her down on the mattress. Her shocked eyes were met by his wild and dark eyes above her. Had this been anyone else, she would have worried.

"What do you think you're doing?!" she asked him as she tried to struggle away from him.

"Making sure you stay still." he said before his whole body wrapped around hers as he laid back down on the bed.

Needless to say, Reika was very bewildered, she forgot to struggle against it as she let the atmosphere of the room overtake her. The room was so dark, it practically invited sleep. His bed was infinities more comfortable than the one she slept in, and then there was the warmness all around her that started to lull her to sleep. Her eyes started to close as she started to wonder why she had even woken up so early that morning.

_Ah, yes. I had to go to the pension._ Reika told herself absent minded as her eyes closed. _The pension! _She screamed in her mind as her eyes snapped open.

She started to struggle again, which was easier to do since Kyoya had fallen back asleep. She frantically tried to get out of bed, she ended up sliding down the silk sheets and tumbling down to the floor. She hurried up and got to her feet as she opened up the curtains, breaking the sleeping spell of the room.

Kyoya didn't show any change besides groaning and shoving his face under his pillow. Practically laughing at her weak attempt to wake him up. She crossed her arms and huffed at him as she watching him before going off into the bathroom.

If he heard the rushing water, he showed no signs of it as she hovered a bucket over his head. "This is your last chance." she told him. "Wake up now before I do something you'll regret and I'll enjoy."

He became curious, taking the pillow off of his head, that was his first mistake. His second was made when he decided to look. His eyes became wide when he saw the bucket and jumped up from the bed at her scary expression.

"You were going to dump water on me?!" he asked outraged, now fully awake as she pushed him in the direction of the bathroom.

Before closing the door, she smiled at him and showed him the empty bucket. His eyes narrowed at her as she winked at him before walking away to the door of the room.

"I'll wait outside, and if you're not ready in twenty minutes, I am going to fill this bucket." she called back to him as she walked to the door.

When the maids waiting outside saw Reika exit Kyoya's room with a victorious smile on her face they gasped, looking at each other in utter surprise.

"No one wakes up Master Kyoya." the first maid said in awe.

"Maybe she really is going to marry Master Kyoya some day." the third maid said.

* * *

Reika and Kyoya arrived at Misuzu's Pension an hour later. Kyoya was in a foul mood, but none of his glares could remove Reika's smile on her face for getting one over Kyoya. She was going to hold this over his head for a _long _time, and Kyoya knew it.

"Hey guys," Reika greeted the twins and Tamaki when she walked through the door, Kyoya in tow.

"Hey, Reika-senpai." Kaoru said waving them over to the table where they were sitting.

"I never thought I would see Kyoya-senpai awake this early in the morning." Hikaru said, smiling deviously with his brother. He was glad to have a distraction from Haruhi and Arai, a boy from Haruhi's middle school. "What did Reika-senpai do to get you out bed at this hour, Kyoya-senpai."

"I refuse to discuss this." Kyoya said, glaring at Reika before he dropped his head on the table.

The three boys looked at Kyoya, who was not acting like himself, making the boys worry. Especially when they saw the smile on Reika's face as she sipped her tea.

"What did she do, Kyoya?" Tamaki asked concerned, as he inched away from Reika.

"She threatened to throw cold water on me." Kyoya mumbled, head still faced down on the table.

"I won't have had to threaten you if you just gotten up when I told you to." Reika told him. "And you know as well I do, that bucket was empty."

The twins eyes widened. "You got one over Kyoya-senpai?" they asked in union, in awe of her.

Reika took another sip of her tea as she smiled, her eyes flashing to the boy who moved his head from the table to look at her. "It doesn't count, I was half asleep." he told her in particular.

"Oh, so that thing before the bucket was you being half asleep?" she asked him coyly.

His head snapped up as he glared at her from across the table, making her smile widen. The three boys look at each other in confusion, very aware of the fact that they were missing something.

"Um...what happened before the bucket?" Tamaki asked, trying to break through their intense stare down that was even scaring the customers.

"Nothing." Kyoya said, never looking away from her as he dare her to contradict him.

"Yeah, nothing at all." she agreed, her smile never fading.

Before anyone could question the glaring duo further, Mori and Honey walked through the door.

"Good morning everyone!" Honey said with his usual chirpiness. He and Mori walked up to the Host Club members before he saw that Haruhi was not among them. "Here's Haru-chan?"

"She's talking to a boy from her old middle school." Kaoru said pointing to a table not far from theirs. "His name is Arai."

"Oh, a boy?" Reika asked interested as she noticed the immediate mood change in two of the Host members.

Kyoya looked at Reika, noticing the same thing. "So then, he's a friend of Haruhi's from middle school, huh." he said, trying to confirm their hypothesis.

"They've had zero contact since graduation," Hikaru put in, trying to make his voice sound even, though the anger was plain to see. "So in my opinion, they're not friends just former classmates."

Kyoya looked at Reika, who gave him a knowing smile and nodded. The tension from this morning was forgotten as they had something else to deal with today. Like Kyoya had told her countless times before, their work was never done.

"Hey, Haruhi!" Hikaru called out, shaking his glass. "Don't you think you should be working? You shouldn't be slacking off!"

"Misuzu said I could take a break." Haruhi told him. "Why don't ask Reika?"

"I got it." Reika said standing up, as she gestured to her friend not to worry. She got behind the bar as Haruhi was now busy scolding Tamaki. "What are you drinking Hikaru?"

"Just some orange juice, Reika-senpai." he sighed.

"Great." she said filling up his cup before she disappeared into the kitchen to find Misuzu.

"Oh, Reika, there you are!" Misuzu said. "I was worried you wouldn't come in today after that handsome boy took you away."

Reika laughed. "No cute boys could keep me away from my last day working here." she told Misuzu.

"That's good to hear!" Misuzu said smiling at the complement. "Well, I don't have anything else to do but your usual work."

"Good, I'll get on it right away." Reika said as she put on her apron.

"Such a hard worker." Misuzu said to herself. "That young fellow with glasses sure is lucky."

Reika had finished washing the dishes and putting them away when she returned to the breakfast room, she saw Haruhi standing up from the table and walk over to the twins where she slapped Hikaru.

"That's not something for you to decide, Hikaru!" Haruhi scolded him. "I'm not going to tolerate you insulting my friends anymore, you got that?!"

"What did I miss?" Reika whispered to Honey.

"Arai had a crush on Haru-chan in middle school." he said. "We wanted to hear more about how Haru-chan was like in middle school but Hikaru was being very rude to Arai."

"Ah." Reika smiled and nodded her head in understanding manner, before she started to pay attention to Hikaru and Haruhi.

Hikaru stood up from the bar. "I thought we were your friends!" he said, taking Haruhi by surprise with his angry tone. "Are we or aren't we?!"

In the midst of the anger, Hikaru pushed Haruhi aside as he practically ran up the stairs to his room, Kaoru on his trail telling him to wait a minute. The rest of the members, plus Arai, stood in silence until they heard the door slam shut.

"I better get back to work." Reika said to herself as she went back to the kitchen.

* * *

It didn't seem like it was all that long when the sun started to set. Reika was so consumed with wanting to do a good job on her last day of work that she had barely taken any breaks all day long. She was sitting outside drinking tea when Haruhi approached her.

"Hey, I barely saw you today." Haruhi said as she sat down with Reika.

"Sorry, I think I might have overdone it today." Reika said, her voice sounded exhausted. "On the bright side, I don't think you'll have much work to do tomorrow."

"That's probably a good thing, I don't think I'll have much time to do any work tomorrow." Haruhi said, Reika gave her a confused look. "Oh, yeah. I didn't get a chance to tell you, Kaoru asked me on a date tomorrow."

"Kaoru?" Reika said confused. "Really?"

"Yeah, I was surprised too." Haruhi admitted.

_Maybe she isn't that clueless. _Reika thought.

"But it guess it makes sense, if my twin brother was acting like Hikaru I would want a break from him too." Haruhi said, as oblivious as ever.

_Nevermind. _Reika thought, as she smiled at Haruhi.

"Well, it should be fun." Reika encouraged her friend.

"I guess." Haruhi said. "I never been on a date before."

"Me neither." Reika admitted. "But they seem like fun."

"Yeah." Haruhi said, her mind traveling somewhere far before she turned to her friend. "I didn't get a chance to ask before, but how was it staying in Kyoya-senpai's cottage?"

"It wasn't too bad." Reika said, before rolling her eyes. "All we did was work. But this morning was interesting."

"What happened this morning?" Haruhi asked.

Reika smiled to herself, shaking her head. "Nothing really." she brushed it off. "Kyoya has a tough time waking up in the morning, so I helped him."

"You spend a lot of time with him, don't you." Haruhi observed.

"It's kind of hard not to." Reika said shrugging. "We're in the same class, the same club, and I'm his assistant."

"That's not what I meant." Haruhi said, insinuating something her tone.

"Then what-" Reika didn't get to finish before the boys walked up to them.

"Ready to go, Reika?" Kyoya asked, offering his hand to help her up.

"Um," she said unsure as she saw everyone staring at Kyoya's sudden act of chivalry towards Reika. "Sure." she said taking his hand.

He held her hand as he pulled her up, his hands felt just like she remembered. She was so lost in the feeling that she forgot to actually stand when he pulled her up, causing her to tumble her way directly to his chest. Giving him an unexpected hug.

There were a lot of gasps, secret knowing smiles, and a lot of repressed blushing before Reika sprung apart from Kyoya.

"S-sorry." she said, not looking up at him as she clutched her eyes closed in embarrassment. She said a lightning fast goodbye to the the Host Club members before she practically dashed to the waiting car in front of Misuzu's Pension.

While the Club members were still getting over the shock of what they just saw, Kyoya looked at her frantic steps and let a smile form on his face. His face was back to normal when his friends looked at him.

"I guess I should go as well." he said walking off in the same direction where she took off from. "Goodbye."

When he reached her, he found her bent over as she resting her elbows on the trunk of the car as she would every so often bang her head on the back window. He let out a quiet laugh at her overreaction.

"I promise I won't hold it against you, if you don't hold what I did this morning against me." he whispered in her ear, making her jump, earning another quiet laugh from him.

"Oh, Kyoya, I am so sorry." she apologized, her right hand hiding her face in embarrassment. "I really didn't mean for that happen."

"Didn't you hear me before?" he asked her, amused at her unnecessary apology.

Her hand never left her face as her fingers shifted from her left eye. His previous words registering in her mind. She held up her left pinky. "You promise?"

"You have my word." he said, looking at her pinky finger questionably. "But I'm not doing the pinky thing."

"Come on," she said her hand falling away from her face, her normal self returning. "It's not a deal unless you do it."

He saw her serious expression and sighed. "Have it your way." he said intertwining their pinkies. "The events of today are forgotten."

"Completely forgotten." she agreed as they smiled at each other.

He held the car door open for her. "Get in." he said. "We have a full day tomorrow."

"What do you mean?" she asked him as she got in the car.

"Tomorrow is Hikaru and Haruhi's date." he said, getting in the car after her and closing the door.

She laughed as the car started to move. "I knew Kaoru asking Haruhi on a date seemed too strange." she said. "Kaoru is making us follow them?"

"Of course." he said.

"Why am I not surprised." she sighed, leaning back on the seat to stare at the ceiling of the car. "I'm going to miss this while I'm in Brazil."

"Then I guess you have to hurry home." he told her, trying to sound impartial as he looked out the window.

"We'll see." she told him, her head turning to watch him for a minute.

* * *

The next morning came earlier than expected. Reika's bags were all packed as she left her room to go wake up Kyoya. She passed by the maids in the hallway who all gave her encouragement as she walked down the hall to Kyoya's room.

She laughed to herself as she threw the door open. "Should I get the bucket?" she asked him. Kyoya groaned, throwing a pillow in her direction. She blocked it easily as she laughed. "So now you're throwing things too."

She walked to the windows and opened the dark curtains. He growled at her before shoving his head underneath his other pillows.

"Come on, Sleeping Beauty, time to wake up from your spell." she joked, gathering up the comforter and pulling it off the bed. He curled up in response. "Really?"

Sighing, she started to pull his pillow from his head. She knew that even half asleep, he would not be falling for the same tricks twice. But he kept hiding under his other many other pillows. Reika was getting irritated, until there was only one pillow left.

She was kneeling on the bed now, prying the pillow off his head when he turned the tables by - apparently - the only way his half asleep self knew how. He pinned her wrists to the mattress as he straddled her.

"Seriously?" she asked him, not at all scared by his aggravated glares that anyone else in her place would have run away from by now. Not once did she thought of how improper their current position was, she was getting used to it. "Do you have any new material? At all?"

His sleep finally drifted from his eyes as he realized just what exactly he was doing. He looked closely at the form underneath him. She was out of breath from fighting with him over the pillows, her hair was also a mess, and her angry eyes on his didn't help.

"Why are you staring at me?" he asked her, trying to forget the situation and how awkward it was when her anger melted away.

"I've never really seen you without glasses." she told him, much to her own surprise and his. They kept staring at each other, neither knowing what to say next. Both of their hearts racing.

She cleared her throat, realizing now how mortifying it would be if someone were to walk in. "We should-" she said sitting up.

"Yes!" he said louder than he meant to before he scurried off the bed and towards the bathroom. "I'll meet you outside."

"That's probably a good idea." she agreed faster than she should have, before running to the door and shutting it behind her. Her knees gave up as she leaned against the door and slid down. Her heart was beating fast, faster than it should be. "Oh, this is not good." she told herself.

Breakfast was awkward, to say the least. All throughout the meal, Kyoya and Reika refused to look at each other. They barely spoke a word until they were in the car heading for town to meet Kaoru and the rest of the Host Club.

"I think I'll use my favor now." Kyoya said suddenly.

"What favor?" Reika asked him.

"The one from the truth game." he said, his voice was even.

"What do you want to use it for?" she asked him. Even though she knew exactly what he was thinking, she wanted some assurance of what she was agreeing to.

"This whole morning," he said, trying his best to keep any emotions from his voice. "It was just another morning. Nothing happened."

"Exactly." she told him.

"What do you think about a prince charming theme for the end of the year fair?" he asked her, changing the subject.

Before they even noticed they had forgotten all about the events of that morning as they discussed costumes, budget, and the guest list for Ouran Academy's end of the year fair. They didn't know it yet but in the back of that car, as they were arguing about horse carriages, that was the place that it all started. The place where two of the brightest and most observant students of Ouran realized the one thing that they would deny if anyone asked them, that they were in completely and utterly infatuated with the person sitting next to them in that car.

They didn't call it love. No, that would have shattered the image that they were both trying to maintain. The image of logic over emotions. But in that moment, their emotions were logical. Even if they both didn't want to admit it. Both afraid of falling, both afraid of rejection, and both afraid that they might just be right.

* * *

After following Haruhi and Hikaru for the better part of the morning, Kaoru was about ready to call it a day.

"We take our eyes off of them for a second and suddenly everything is great!" Kaoru said excited as he watched Hikaru on his date with Haruhi.

"That's true," Kyoya said. "But I get the feeling Haruhi is the one in charge here."

"When is she ever not." Reika pointed out with a smile.

"It looks like the ice cream stand helped smooth things over." Honey beamed.

"I doubt it." Mori said.

"We should get going." Kaoru said. "If we get caught it's going to ruin everything. And anyway, I don't think the boss can handle much more of this."

They looked over at Tamaki who was coveting what Hikaru had. "It looks like so much fun." he moped. "Lucky."

"Still, I'm worried about just leaving them here alone." Kaoru said.

"I'll keep an eye on them." Reika volunteered. "I need to do some last minute shopping for my trip anyway."

"Really?" Kaoru asked. "Are you sure?"

"Why not." Reika said smiling.

"Thank you, Reika-senpai." Kaoru said.

"Bye, Rei-chan." Honey waved at her as he and Mori started to leave with Kaoru and Tamaki.

"I'll stay with you." Kyoya said, taking everyone by surprise.

"You want to help me shop?" Reika asked him dubiously.

"No, I want to finish discussing the plans for the fair." Kyoya told her.

"Of course." Reika said, not at all surprised but still slightly disappointed.

"Well, bye you two." Tamaki said smiling, happy this was just business. "Take care of my little girl for me."

"Sure." Kyoya said as the four guys started to leave.

Reika turned to try to find Haruhi and Hikaru, but they were nowhere to be found. "Hey, where did they go?" she asked Kyoya.

"Don't worry about them." Kyoya told her, taking by surprise as he pulled her by her hand to the nearest cafe.

"Shouldn't we be looking after them?" she asked him as he made her sit down on the first available table.

"I'm sure Hikaru will take good care of Haruhi." he reassured her. "We have other things to attend to."

She rolled her eyes annoyed. "We can discuss fair ideals by e-mail when I'm in Brazil, there's no need to do it now." she whined.

"That's not what we're doing." he told her.

"Then what are we doing?" she asked, intrigued.

"Going on our first official date." he said nonchalantly as he looked over the menu.

"Date?" she asked confused.

"Yes." he said.

"Okay, I'll bite." she said, picking up her menu and going along with it. "Why are we going on a date?"

"After some thought," he said, clearing his throat as he looked at her and back down to his menu. "I have realized that I should live up to my role as your fiance by taking you out on a date."

She smiled, touched, but still rolled her eyes. "What is a date, really?" she asked him rhetorically. "Eating together, having a good time, and figuring things out about each other. And if you go by those requirements, we have been on plenty of date before."

"Yes, but those weren't proper dates." he argued with her.

"What about our relationship has even been proper?" she asked him, wicked smile on her lips as she looked up at him from the menu for a moment.

He looked at her, as a smile crossed his face without his permission before he decided to ignore it all together. "Dates are supposed to be romantic, or what least that's what I'm told." he said, putting down his menu.

"Kyoya Ootori being romantic." she pondered, sliding her menu on the table. "Well, I'm intrigued."

"You should be." he teased her back. "Ready to order?"

"Yes." she said smiling as he called the server over. After they ordered and their food arrived, Reika turned back to the conversation. "So what do you have planned for our date?"

"You'll just have to see." he told her.

"You're being unusually mysterious today." she said, when he didn't look at her she smiled knowingly. "You have no idea, do you?"

He glared at her for a second. "Of course I do." he lied.

She crossed her arms, leaning back on the chair. "Then what are we doing next?" she asked.

"It's a surprise." he told her.

"I'm sure it is." she said. They stared at each other for a while before resuming eating.

It was altogether not a bad date, especially because everything they did was completely unplanned. They went to an antique store, Reika played with the items while Kyoya educated - more like scolded - her on the price and rarity of those items. She dragged him to a florist shop to look at the flowers, he bought her a rose when she wasn't looking. They wandered around the small town, talking about everything and anything.

They were too busy enjoying themselves that didn't notice where they were going or how dark the sky was getting. Kyoya was surprised when he felt a raindrop on his nose.

He grabbed her hand. "Come on." he said pulling her along as he looked for a place to escape the rain.

It started to pour when they finally made it underneath the awning of one of the nearby stores. Reika was laughing even though she was drenched, her laughter was contagious as Kyoya started to laugh too. The sudden thunder noise scared her, she jumped forward and grabbed onto Kyoya without thinking about it. Her scared face made Kyoya laugh louder as he subconsciously held her closer to him, she join on the laughter after getting over the scare.

Neither of them knew for how long they laughed until Reika caught his glance, their laughter died as they just stared at each other. Nothing else mattered. Not the rain, not their worries, not their fears. Just their fast beating hearts and their approaching faces.

And like every perfect moment, it was shattered by a ringing phone. Reika's phone rang as their eyes widened at what they were just about to do. They sprang apart from each other, Kyoya cleared his throat while Reika reached for her phone.

"H-hello." she stuttered.

"Reika!" Tamaki said on the other end of the line. "Please tell me you know where Haruhi is."

"Sorry, Tamaki, we lost her and Hikaru a long time ago." Reika said. "But I'm sure Hikaru is taking good care of her."

"No!" Tamaki yelled at the other end of the line. "You don't understand. Haruhi is terrified of thunderstorms."

Reika's eyes widened before she got herself together. "Try Hikaru's phone." she ordered Tamaki, her voice was different, stronger. "Kyoya and I will look for them, they're probably in a store somewhere. Call me when you find out where."

"Rei-" Tamaki didn't get a chance to finish as Reika hung up on him.

"Let's go." she said to Kyoya. "We have to find them."

Without questions, Kyoya followed her into the rain as they began to search every shop and building in town. They were out searching for more than an hour before Kyoya pulled her underneath the nearest awning.

"You have to stop." he told her, pulling on her arms as she struggled against him.

"Let me go, Kyoya!" she yelled at him, still struggling.

He pulled her towards him, hugging her while he retrained her. "You're going to catch a cold if you keep this up." he told her, as she continued to struggle.

"I don't care, I have to find her." she said, pushing away from his chest.

He kept his arms wrapped tightly around her waist. "You're not going to lose her." he told her. It was hard to tell between tears and rain drops, but he had finally noticed her cry when he pulled her away from the rain.

She stopped struggling, looking up at him her tears were clear to see now. "But what if I do?" she asked him, as she let herself cry on his chest. "I was supposed to be looking after her."

"That wasn't your job." he reassured her while letting his hand run through her hair as he comforted her. "And I'm sure Hikaru is taking good care of her. You and I both know how he feels about Haruhi."

"You're right. Like always." she said lifting her head from his chest and wiping away her tears. She laughed a little, before she saw how drenched Kyoya looked. "Look at you, I shouldn't have dragged you with me. Now you'll probably get sick because of me."

"I'll be just fine." he told her. "What I'm worried about is you."

"Me?" she asked, stepping away from him. "What about you? Unlike you would like to believe, Kyoya, you are human. I'm leaving to Brazil today, if you get sick who will take care of you?"

"I won't get sick." he told her, despite being very touched by her concern. "I promise."

"Pinky promise?" she teased him, holding up her pinky.

He sighed, smiling as he rolled his eyes. "Pinky promise." he agreed, wrapping his pink around hers. They both laughed.

* * *

When the rain stopped, everything seemed to go back to normal. The sun was back to shining and Hikaru had made up with both Haruhi and Arai. Reika was downstairs helping Haruhi one more time with her chores before she left when Arai arrived with a watermelon.

Kaoru and Kyoya were watching the friendly exchange from the stairs above, both happy with the turnout of events.

"By the way," Kyoya said, wanting the opinion of someone else but not wanting to give too much away by asking it flat out. "A question about your strategy. Did you ever consider possibility that the date might go too well, and those two might fall in love?"

"Nah, it's still too soon for that." Kaoru answered, oblivious to Kyoya's underlying question. "Hikaru is kind of a dummy."

"Hey, come down here." Tamaki invited them when he noticed them above. "It's time for some melon."

Kyoya glanced at Reika, still hard at work. He fixed his glasses. "Well, then he's lucky because our club is full of dummies." he said, his eyes still on Reika before he smiled at Kaoru. He started to walk down the stairs.

"Really?" Kaoru asked interested as he started to understand what Kyoya was talking about. "But you're not a dummy, Kyoya-senpai."

"I'm the biggest one of them all, Kaoru." Kyoya chuckled as he admitted it, he continued down the stairs. "Are you about ready to leave, Reika?" Kyoya asked her.

Reika looked up at him and smiled. "Sure, let me just say goodbye to everyone." she said.

"Stay out of trouble you two." she said to the twins.

"No promises." they said in union.

She got down to eye level with Honey. "Don't forget to brush your teeth everyday." she told him.

"I promise I'll never forget, Rei-chan." Honey said hugging the younger girl.

"I promise I'll keep practicing, sensei." she bowed down to Mori, who bowed back with a friendly smile.

Before she had time to stand up straight, Tamaki gave her a big hug. "I'll miss you Reika." he told her, overly emotional, as usual. "Don't you dare forget us!"

"Of course not, Tamaki." she said hugging him for a second before Haruhi pulled him away.

"Quit crushing her with your floppy arms." Haruhi said to Tamaki, making the poor club leader sulk. "You better come home soon."

"I promise." Reika laughed before she hugged her friend. "And you take care of them."

"I'm not sure that's humanly possible." Haruhi said as she watched the boys fool around like usual.

"If anyone can do it, it's you." Reika said.

"I'll miss you." Haruhi said. "I can't believe you're leaving me alone with them for two whole months."

"I'll miss you too." Reika said. "And if there's ever any trouble you know you can always call me."

"Of course." Haruhi said, hugging her friend one more time before Kyoya ushered Reika out the door.

"I'll miss all of you guys." Reika said waving at her friends through the window as the car drove off. She sat back when Misuzu's Pension became a tiny blur behind them.

"You'll be back in two months." Kyoya reassured her.

"I know." Reika said. "But a lot can happen in two months. Especially in the Host Club."

"I'll keep you up to date in my daily e-mails." he told her. "And we still have a lot to talk about, so don't think of this like a vacation."

"How could I ever take a break from my work?" she teased him.

They arrived at the airport in a few hours. After checking in and getting through security, which Kyoya somehow managed to go through with her. She was standing in front of the gate, her airplane departing in a just a few minutes.

"I guess this is it." Kyoya said, offering her his hand for her to shake.

She scoffed, shrugging his hand out of the way before she hugged him. He was taken aback before he got over it and hugged her back.

"Take care of them." she told him, not letting go just yet. "Take care of yourself."

"You seem to be forgetting that I did all that long before we met." he told her when she let go.

She laughed. "Yes, but like you've admitted many times before, I'm a crucial part of your life." she said.

"I don't recall ever saying those words." he said in denial.

"Goodbye, Kyoya." she said, smiling to herself.

"Goodbye, Reika." he told her.

She started to head towards the gate, her heart racing. She had pondered this for a long time, more than she would have cared to admit. Maybe it was the right time, maybe she should just throw caution to the wind, maybe she should just stop thinking about the consequences.

_Yes._ She said to herself, her hand tightened on her carry-on and she turned around. Kyoya was confused when he saw her turn around, part of him knew, but he didn't want to think about it.

"Did you forget something?" he asked concerned.

"You could say that." she said coyly. He gave her a confused look, before he could even think she got on her toes and kissed him.

His eyes closed instinctively, his hand on her waist as he pulled her closer to him. Both of them lost in the moment, not caring who was staring or how they should really be reacting to the situation.

Kyoya's sense came back before Reika's did, too bad his brain didn't follow. He pulled back and pushed her away slightly. "Maybe I should have used my favor to forget this moment." he said to himself.

"What?!" Reika asked him perplexed and angry, as her senses came crashing down.

"Final boarding call for flight QR807, nonstop to Sao Paulo, Brazil." the flight attendant called on the interphone.

"You should go." Kyoya told her, his voice reverting back to his casual nonchalance.

Not knowing what to say, she turned away from him and walked away. Not stopping to think about it until the plane was already in the air.

_What happened?_ She asked herself, feeling rejected as she contemplated the moment in her head over a thousand times in her head during the twenty-one hour flight.


	15. Reika's Freak Out!

**Chapter 15**

**Reika's Freak Out!/Kyoya's Reluctant Day Out!**

* * *

_Brazil_

In part, Reika was glad that her mother was keeping her busy ever since she landed in Brazil. It kept her from thinking about the events of her last day with Kyoya, and it most certainly helped her not to overreact to it.

Now Reika was standing behind her mother while Mrs. Niigata made a speech to the workers of Niigata Enterprises. She didn't cry, not she like when she first arrived in Brazil or every time that she heard her mother made the same speech recounting the same event.

"We all recall the event that threatened our livelihoods. Four years ago we all stood here mourning the sudden deaths of our company president, vice president, and heir - my husband, my brother, and my son. We all worried what would become of us without them. But here we are today, ready to launch our company globally. I am proud to say that if it weren't for all of you, this would not have been possible." Mrs. Niigata addressed the staff as they clapped at their success. "And though we will always miss them dearly, we will mark their names in history to assure that they will never be forgotten. Thank you all."

More clapping followed as Mrs. Niigata and her daughter stepped down from the stage and exited the building. Speeches continued to be made but the main act was long gone. Reika and her mother got in the waiting car as they drove off.

"That was a great speech." Reika complemented her mother, like she always did. "Father and Kanto would have been proud."

If Mrs. Niigata heard her daughter, she showed no sign of it as she continued to gaze out the window unbothered. Reika gave a disappointed smile at her mother, but did nothing to capture her attention further. In theory, Reika knew that her mother had endured a worst loss than Reika could ever imagine or feel, and that shutting down emotionally was her mother's best way to cope. And still, Reika hated her mother for it.

Too many thoughts clouded her mind. Too many complaints and self-piteous arguments. She had to close her eyes and breath a deep sigh. _Enough_, she told herself. _Today is not the day to do this_. She wiped away the unshed tears and waited until they got home.

The house was on the outskirts of the city, the land was big while the house was considerably smaller. The car passed through the gates and to a wilderness of trees before they finally reached the house in the middle of the land. In the front of the house stood a younger woman that Mrs. Niigata in dark clothes as she waited for the car to stop.

Mrs. Niigata's composure tightened as she saw the woman waiting. "What is she doing here?" she said as she driver stopped the car and got out to open the door.

"It's the death anniversary of her husband too, mother." Reika tried to reason.

"I don't care what you think, that woman was never my sister-in-law." Mrs. Niigata said as the driver opened her door. She walked off into the house, paying no attention to the woman who was attempting to greet her.

"I apologize for my mother, Aunt Mai." Reika said greeting her aunt.

Mai's smile returned. "Reika," she greeted her niece. "How have you been?"

"I've been well." Reika said. "What about you?"

"Well," Mai said sighing in defeat. "It's been hard working at the company."

"I'm sorry if my mother has been making things hard for you." Reika said apologetic. "She should have never contested uncle's will."

"It's alright, Reika." Mai said waving it off. "I enjoy every challenge your mother assigns me."

"You must be hungry." Reika said pulling her aunt into the house. "Did you just arrive from the airport?"

"Yes." Mai said. "I'm afraid I can't stay too long, my return flight leaves early tomorrow. I just came to pay my respects to your family."

"Our family." Reika corrected as the servers brought in the food. "I don't agree with what my mother did or how she refuses to accept you into the family."

"I know that." Mai said, putting her hand affectionately on top of her niece's hand before changing the subject. "So how is Ouran Academy treating you?"

"Oh, it's really good." Reika said, trying very hard not to think about him.

"I hear that you are in the Host Club." Mai said nonchalantly as she eat, not noticing her niece's eyes grow. "They the club is made out of the handsomest boys at Ouran. You sure are lucky to be working with them."

"Y-yeah, you could say that." Reika said, her head was on the verge of all her willpower exploding as it was becoming harder and harder not to think of him. She stood up. "Will excuse me for a minute?"

"Of course, are you alright?" Mai asked concerned.

"Yes." Reika lied, reassuring her aunt before walking outside the house.

Reika's legs gave up when she reached the nearest chair on the deck. She slumped down on the chair. The thoughts she had kept locked up were finally freed. She hadn't thought about it ever since her plane landed, she was living in a blissful state of denial for the past two weeks, now it was coming undone.

"What did I do?!" Reika asked herself frantically. "I really shouldn't have done that. Now everything is ruined!"

She spent the better part of an hour kicking herself for her actions. Kyoya didn't like her, not in the manner that she liked him. What was she even thinking, kissing him like that? She doubted he would even speak to her after that. Talk to her?! She would be lucky if it was just that. She would probably have to leave the Host Club, her friends. Why did she let herself even do that? It wasn't like her at all. How stupid could she be? Why did she-

"Reika?" her mother called for her, interrupting Reika's rant in her head. "Reika, where are you?"

"Outside." Reika said softly.

"Ah, there you are." Mrs. Niigata said. "What are you even doing out here? Nevermind that. It's time for the ceremony."

Suddenly, all of Reika's thoughts regarding Kyoya and their last encounter were locked back up. For the moment at least. "Is Aunt Mai joining us?" she asked her mother as she stood up.

"I can't very well ban her from my brother's grave." her mother said bitterly.

Reika sighed. _It's better than nothing, I guess._ She told herself.

"Ready?" Mai said as she came outside.

Mrs. Niigata shook her head disapprovingly before she started to walk off in the direction of the cemetery. The Niigata family had owned this land for generations, it wasn't at all uncommon for dead ones to be buried in the private cemetery. Not to mention, Reika's father always wanted to be buried in the place where he grew up, to be laid down next to his father and mother. And now, sadly, his son and brother-in-law as well.

The Menichi was a short ceremony. Tears were shed, prayers were said, and items were placed at the stone heads. Then, at the end of the day the three women went back to the house for dinner, allowing others to also pay their respects.

* * *

_Japan, the next day_

Ever since Kyoya had dropped Reika off at the airport, he had become more closed off than usual. Summer break was almost over and Tamaki being - well, Tamaki, he decided to cheer up his friend. While simultaneously reaching his own ends. It was easy to convince the twins, Honey, and Mori. Now all that was left was getting Kyoya out of bed.

"Doesn't this sound fascinating?" Tamaki's voice woke Kyoya up as the blond boy continued talking. "Commoners hold events like this all the time, they're called expos. That's commoner's lingo for exposition. Products from all over are gathered under one roof so that underprivileged people can cope with the emptiness of not being able to travel." Tamaki continued to talk, holding up one of the flyers for the expo even though Kyoya was still pretending to sleep. "That makes this the perfect opportunity for us to better understand Haruhi, by allowing the Host Club to study commoners in their natural environment. You guessed it Kyoya, we are going to go on a field trip." he was quiet for a minute, making Kyoya think he had given up. "Haruhi won't be joining us today incidentally as her presence might harm our credibility as impartial observers." he whispered really close to Kyoya's ear.

Kyoya opened his eyes and glared at the Tamaki. But that just caused Honey and the twins to assist Tamaki waking Kyoya up.

"Oh, come on." Tamaki said. "You can't just lie bed all morning! Today is the last day of summer vacation."

"If Reika can get him out of bed, I bet we can too." Hikaru said to his brother.

"Shh," Tamaki said to the twins. "You know how upset he gets when you mention the R word."

Kyoya had had enough, he sat up in bed, surprising the others. "For your information, I was up until five am you morons." he said callously, not caring for his manners. "Which if you hadn't noticed makes me a little less than happy about being woken up." with each word he said the Host Club members got closer to the door, fear in their every aspect.

"Kyo-chan isn't much of a morning person, huh?" Honey said, while the other shook in fear.

"You have no room to talk." Mori deadpanned.

Honey was taken aback as he gave his loyal friend and (practically) servant a confused look. "Hey, what does that mean?" the smaller boy asked, apparently unaware of his own not-a-morning-person problems.

"Reika-sepai has only been gone two weeks," Kaoru started, whispering to the others.

"And Kyoya-senpai has been overworking ever since." Hikaru finished, the tension from Kyoya's anger had defused for a moment.

"Why do you think I'm so adamant about getting Kyoya to the commoners expo?" Tamaki asked his friends.

"Because you want all of us to be there when you stalk Haruhi so it's not as creepy?" the twins asked.

"No!" Tamaki said outraged. "Because Kyoya needs to cheer up. And I really want to check out the commoners' expo."

"I think it's sweet how much Kyo-chan cares about Rei-chan." Honey beamed.

Kyoya was getting angrier by the second. "Okay, enough with the commoner shtick." Kyoya said, making the boys fear him again. "If you formulaic half-wits feel like wasting all afternoon on worn out, old, cliches go right ahead and suit yourselves." he said, a few seconds later falling back into bed and asleep.

"Well, if that's what you really want." Tamaki said, before ignoring what his friend said and doing things his way. "You heard the man! Now let's dress him to the nines and head for the expo!"

It was all a bit chaotic for Kyoya to keep with all the details while still trying to sleep. When he woke up an hour later in a place full of strangers - commoners, to be specific. he was dressed with his glasses on and he no clue where the other Host Club members were.

* * *

_Brazil, 12:00 am_

It was official, Reika wasn't going to get any sleep that night, she just knew it. She had been staring at the ceiling of her room for the last two hours, replaying the events of the day again and again. She recalled everything. From the sudden courage she was feeling that misguided her to kiss him to the cold tone of his voice when he told her to go.

He told her he would give her daily updates, where were those e-mails, you ask? No where. They weren't any, no matter how much she hoped they would be there every time she checked her mail box in the morning. Was this it? Was it over now? Their friendship, their partnership, everything? She couldn't believe that everything would crash down because of one little kiss.

Maybe she was westernizing the experience, it was her first kiss after all. It was supposed to mean something. Or at least that's what every romantic story had lead her to believe. Those liars. Maybe it was his first kiss too, and he didn't know how to react? She grunted in frustration, there were too many maybes in her mind right now.

Maybe he really does like me. Maybe he'll forgive me. Maybe it's okay. Maybe he'll forget about it. Maybe he'll think that it was all a joke. Maybe it was a mistake. Maybe this was for the best. Maybe I messed this whole thing up. Maybe I'll never see him again. Maybe I'll get hit by a car!

She had had enough of the over-thinking. She needed to talk to someone right now. She picked up her phone from the bedside table and dialed the one number she knew would answer.

"Hello?" Haruhi said on the other end of the line.

"Hey, Haruhi. It's Reika." Reika said desperately happy that her friend picked up the phone.

"Hey, Reika." Haruhi said. "How are you? How is Brazil?"

"I'm good, so is Brazil." Reika said. "What about you? What are you doing?"

"Nothing really," Haruhi said. "I'm just checking out the expo at the mall."

"That sounds like fun." Reika said smiling.

"It is." Haruhi said. "It's just too bad you're not here."

"Yeah." Reika said, she missed her friend.

"The guys have left me alone ever since we got back from Karuizawa." Haruhi said. "Kyoya-senpai seems really down lately. Do you have any idea why?"

"W-w-what? No!" Reika guiltily lied, almost falling off her bed at Haruhi's surprising question. "Why would ask that?!"

"So you did do something." Haruhi said observantly.

"Yes!" Reika squeaked feeling uncomfortable and contrite.

"Well, what did you do?" Haruhi asked intrigued.

"I may have - well, I may have-" Reika kept starting the sentence but never actually finishing it.

"Reika." Haruhi said almost impatient. "What did you do?"

Reika tightly closed her eyes shut, summoning all of her courage to say three little words that she knew if she said the she would never be able to take it back or pretend it never happened. "I kissed him." she admitted.

Haruhi's eyes widened as she almost dropped her phone. "Let me get this straight, you kissed Kyoya-senpai?" she asked.

Reika nodded, forgetting for a second that she was talking on the phone and that Haruhi couldn't actually see her. "Yes." she said. "Yes, I did."

"How did he respond?" Haruhi asked baffled.

"Not well." Reika said. "I think."

"Did he, um, kiss you back?" Haruhi asked, embarrassed by the topic.

"I'm not one hundred percent sure." Reika said. "I think so, but it could just be my imagination being fueled by my hope that he did."

"Have you talked to him at all since then?" Haruhi asked, trying to comfort her friend that clearly had been dealing with this for a long time.

"No." Reika said disappointed. "I haven't heard a word from him ever since he told me to get on the plane."

"He actually said that?" Haruhi asked confused.

"To be fair, it was the last call for my plane." Reika informed her friend.

"Is that all he said?" Haruhi asked, trying to get the full picture.

"Before that, he also said that he should have used his favor to forget that moment." Reika said defeated.

"How can he say that?!" Haruhi asked outraged. "He's your-" she stopped before she gave too much away. "-friend." she finished.

"I know he's my friend, but he is also Kyoya Ootori." Reika said. "It's hard to tell what he's thinking. Much less if all of his intentions are actually real."

"That's true." Haruhi said. "Kyoya-senpai is a hard guy to figure out."

Reika sighed. "No kidding." she said.

"Do you like him?" Haruhi asked.

"I did kiss him, didn't I?" Reika said.

"Yes, but did you mean it?" Haruhi asked.

"More than I'm willing to admit." Reika said.

"Okay." Haruhi said. "Tell me everything that happened."

Reika drew in a big breath before she launched into the description of the scene with amazing detail that she had pondered and questioned all night long. When Haruhi and Reika were done talking about it was almost one in the morning for Reika. Having finally gotten to talk to someone about her current dilemma, she was breathing easier now as she slowly drifted off to sleep that night.

* * *

_Japan, 1:00 pm_

Kyoya stood up from bench he had been sleeping on, he looked around and saw that he was at the Izumi shopping center. Which meant that he couldn't really walk home. He reached into his pocket and found nothing. Not his phone, and certainly not his wallet. To make matters worse, he was also very hungry.

He blamed himself more than the idiots who dragged him out of bed, dressed him, and left him alone without a cell phone or money. If only he hadn't been working past normal day hours and gone to bed at an acceptable time, like midnight, he wouldn't be in a situation like this. He knew better than to be caught unprepared.

But the more he thought about it, the more he blamed her for it. It was her disappointed face that haunted his mind whenever he tried to sleep, in an attempt to forget it he had gotten right back to work, working at crazy hours of the night. One thing was sure, his sleep cycle was ruined. All because of a kiss, though Reika wasn't the only one at fault and Kyoya knew that, blaming her was better than blaming himself. He was the one, after all, that caused her reaction that plagued him.

Before Kyoya's mind could dive in deeper to the same subject he had been contemplating for the last two weeks, a little boy bumped into Kyoya's legs. The little boy fell on the ground after the crash, Kyoya wasn't physically affected by it.

"Oh, wow, sorry." the little boy said. He looked up at the taller boy and he his face became as white as a sheet as Kyoya glared at him, taking another victim of his bad mood. The little boy screamed and shook in fear. "Mama!"

Kyoya looked away from the little boy who scurried off, feeling kind of guilty for scaring the kid. "Tamaki is a dead man when I get my hands on him." Kyoya swore to himself.

In the meanwhile, Haruhi was walking through the expo when she spotted the last person she wanted to see. "Kyoya-senpai?" she asked the tall boy with glasses. Kyoya took notice, much to Haruhi's annoyance because there was only two people who could drag Kyoya out of bed and to a public mall, and one of them was on the other side of the world. "I didn't expect to see you here today."

Kyoya took a minute, considering the odds before deciding that Haruhi was his only salvation at the moment. "How much money do you have on you, Haruhi?" he asked her.

"What?" Haruhi asked.

"Well, you see, Tamaki - the fool, dragged me out of bed and left me behind without my wallet or phone." Kyoya told her. "I'm quite famished."

"Oh, okay senpai." Haruhi said, thinking that this would be a great opportunity to talk to Kyoya about Reika. "We should probably go to the food court then."

"Marvelous idea." Kyoya said as Haruhi lead the way. They arrived at a fast food booth, which was perfectly okay with Kyoya, as he was ready to eat just about anything at that point.

"Kyoya-senpai, are you sure this is where you want to eat?" Haruhi asked bemused. "There are much nicer restaurants to choose from upstairs."

"Well, you don't have that much on you so our choices are limited." Kyoya said. "Just be sure to get a receipt, Tamaki will reimburse you tenfold."

His current anger was staggeringly fearful. _How had this happened?_ Haruhi asked herself. _All I wanted was a peek at the products expo. Then Reika called, and she seemed really worried. But why did I have to run into Kyoya-senpai, and why did he have to be in such a foul mood. Maybe it's because-_

"Haruhi, I think it's our turn." Kyoya said, interrupting her thoughts. "How do I order?"

"Oh!" Haruhi imagined Kyoya ordering for himself, it would be quite disastrous. "Here, why don't I order for both of us. Do you know what you want?"

"You pick." he said. "Just get us a lot of it."

"Well, okay." Haruhi said before turning to the cashier as she pointed to the items on the menu. "That and that one. Both with fries too, please."

The cashier looked up at Kyoya, taking in his appearance and beaming in delight. "Okay, coming right up." she said. "Would you be interested in adding one of our delicious desserts." she said trying to prolong the conversion with the attractive customer.

"Thank you, no." Kyoya said politely. "I don't care for sweets."

The cashier's eyes sparkled at his cool factor, as she once again tried to keep taking to him. "Before you decide, we have a new shake that's absolutely-" she was interrupted by Kyoya and his bad mood glare.

"I have given you my answer." he said in a cold tone that could make polar bears freeze over.

"Please be sure to include our receipt." Haruhi said at an weak attempt to defuse the situation. The cashier brought them their food swiftly and without making eye contact or any attempt to talk to the boy again. It was silent until Haruhi and Kyoya found a place to sit.

"Kyoya-senpai, just because you're in a bad mood today doesn't give you the right to go around talking to people like that." Haruhi scold him. "The poor girl was just doing her job."

Kyoya reached for his sandwich. "Her job is to serve us food, not irritate me with some weak sales pitch and flirting strategy." he said before taking a bite of his sandwich, was momentarily too busy with the delightful feeling of food in his stomach to notice her staring at him. "Now what?"

"Nothing, I just don't think I ever seen you eat before." she said. "Somehow I thought the experience would be more refined. I'm surprised food like this even appeals to you."

"It doesn't appeal to me in the slightest." he said snobbishly. "No doubt you'll say I'm callus for admitting it since you bought this tripe."

"Of course I won't." Haruhi said. _But I will think it though._

"There is an understanding between makers of food like this and those that eat it." Kyoya said. "Quality takes a back seat to convenience. Refinement isn't part of the equation, it's meant to be eaten quickly. Besides, no one of consequence is here to witness my momentary lapse of manners."

Haruhi looked at the boy in front of her. He always seemed so elegant and charming, but now he was a completely different person. She wondered if Reika had ever seen this foul side of him, and if she had, would she still like him?

"Hey," Kyoya interrupted her from her thoughts. "For the record I'm saying it benefits me nothing to keep up appearances in a place like this. And that includes any special treatment I may give you here."

"Oh, really? I won't have guessed that in a million years." Haruhi said sarcastically. "Why are you such a bad mood anyway?"

"Because I hate being woken up." he told her, it was a partially the truth.

"You weren't in this bad of a mood when Reika woke you up." she countered. "Could it be that you miss her, Kyoya-senpai?"

"Don't be ridiculous." he said, lying again.

"Or could it be that it's because of the kiss." she asked, laying her cards on the table.

Kyoya sat up, bewildered by that fact that Haruhi knew. "She told you about that?" he asked, getting his feelings under control.

"This morning, actually." Haruhi said.

"You can't tell anyone!" Kyoya blurted out, trying to get his thoughts him order.

There was a silence. "She's worried about it." Haruhi admitted. Some would call her a bad friend for saying this, but Haruhi knew that the best way to get both Kyoya and Reika to stop worrying about it, was to get them to communicate with each other. "Why would you even say that to her?! I thought she was your friend."

Kyoya looked down at his fries. "Did she tell you everything?" he asked her.

"About the kiss?" Haruhi asked. "Yes, she did."

"Then I guess I should tell you my side of the story." Kyoya said. "That is, if you promise not to tell anyone about it, specially Reika."

"Of course, Kyoya-senpai." Haruhi agreed. "But why are you telling me? Why not Tamaki-senpai?"

"Because you already know half the story." Kyoya admitted. "And if I keep this to myself much longer, I don't think I'll be able to take it."

"Alright." Haruhi said.

* * *

_Two Weeks Ago…_

Kyoya watched her leave, his words finally catching up with him as she disappeared into the gate. He didn't know what to do, he wanted to run after her and kiss her again, tell her he was an idiot. But something inside him kept his feet from moving. It was doubt, fear, whatever you want to call it. It kept him grounded, away from mistakes all his life. He was always careful, and that same thing was telling him that going after her would be a mistake.

Yes, they were engaged but that could change at any day. What he was feeling wasn't practical, especially if things didn't work out. He knew better, he knew that he was the third son and had no prospects besides his intellect and charm. Sure, he would probably be a low ranking power figure in the Ootori Group, yet none of that would be enough for the heiress of not one but two multi-million corporations.

He simply wasn't enough.

The whole engagement was a joke. A simple assurance that the business deals between the Ootori Group and S&amp;A Enterprises would go smoothly. It could be broken the moment that the president of S&amp;A was done with the Ootori Group. The balance of the agreement was slanted towards the president of S&amp;A, who could get any number of prosperous companies to marry her daughter that would be more than willing to take two companies off her hand.

Kyoya hated the thought, the thought of losing her, which he would no matter what he did. She wasn't his, she was on lend until another suitor came along with a bigger company share. And even though he knew he was doing the right thing, for both of them, he could help to think what it would be like. To imagine, just for a minute, what it would be like to know that Reika would be his and only his.

Was that what she wanted even though it would hurt both of them? Or hadn't she even considered the thought?

He watched her plane leave, his heart was filled with regret even though he knew he was doing the right thing. But that didn't necessarily stop his plaguing thoughts of her every hour of the day. He would just have to live with it.

* * *

"I don't get it." Haruhi said when he was done talking. "You like her but can't tell her because it would hurt both of you?"

"Exactly." Kyoya said, he had edited out the bits of his engagement to Reika. "She is going to marry someone who is far more powerful than I will ever be."

"But that's not now." Haruhi said. "You still have a lot of time between marriage and high school."

"It wouldn't be fair to her, and it wouldn't be fair to me." Kyoya said. "We both have to find someone in equal standing."

"Not fair to her?!" Haruhi asked outraged. "She likes you, you like her. The only unfairness I see is you not telling her."

Kyoya sighed, fixing his glasses. "How could I expect a commoner like you to understand such things?" he said.

"Now you're back to your bad mood again." Haruhi said, dropping the conversation before it got Kyoya in a much worse mood.

The two spent the rest of the day together looking around the products expo as Haruhi tried to learn more about Kyoya and his motives. They both had a lot more fun than previously expected, as Kyoya got out of his bad mood. Which was, of course, ruined when Tamaki decided to publicly broadcast a search for Kyoya, describing him as a little lost boy. Needless to say, Kyoya's bad mood reemerged as he rampaged to the second floor information desk with Haruhi to find the rest of the Host Club.

"Oh, Kyoya!" Tamaki said excitedly when he saw his lost friend. "There you are! We were so worried. Why is Haruhi with you?" he said less excited when he saw the girl.

Honey came right up to greet the girl. "Oh, boy. Oh, boy!" he said happily. "Haru-chan has come to play with us."

"Hoo-ray! Hoo-ray!" the twins said with matching excitement. "Play! Play!"

"I'm sorry, guys but I'm exhausted." Haruhi deadpanned. "It has been a very long day for me."

The members attention was turned on to Tamaki as he spasmed under a golden retriever who was licking him. "Stop it." he said in between laughs. "Quit licking me!"

"What's with the dog?" Kyoya asked.

"Isn't she beautiful?" Tamaki asked. "I got her at this amazing place they call a pet shop! Cut it out, Antoinette." he said as the dog continued to lick him.

"How exactly am I like this moron?" Kyoya asked Haruhi, pertaining to a previous argument.

"You through all that trouble when being a nice guy just comes naturally to you." Haruhi said. "It seems counterintuitive." she started to walk away before she stopped. "Oh, and you should talk to Reika. I know you're dying to know how she is."

"Hum." Kyoya said pensively, when she was too far away to hear. "That's an intriguing notion in it's own way."

When Kyoya got home he sat down in front of his computer and looked at the countless e-mails he had planned to send Reika for the past two weeks.

"I am curious about how you're doing." Kyoya said to his screen, like he was talking to her. "I guess I will have to, one way or another. This is just the best way to do it." he sighed before pressing send.

* * *

_Brazil, 8:00 am_

Reika woke up and checked her mail box as usual. She was expecting to find nothing there from him. She stared at the screen for while, thinking she was just imagining it, she wiped the sleep from her eyes and looked again. There it was, an e-mail from the illustrious Kyoya Ootori.

She clicked on it, confused and excited all at the same time. She read the e-mail, and when she finished she was slightly disappointed that it only contained the daily highlights of the Host Club activities.

"At least he's still talking to me." Reika said relieved. "But why do I feel so letdown?"


	16. Welcome Back Reika!

**Chapter 16**

**Welcome Back Reika!/Mori-senpai Has an Apprentice Candidate!**

* * *

_Two Months Later…_

Reika walked down the halls of Ouran Academy, classes were over for the day and club activities had just began. She wasn't at school that morning due to jetlag, but she couldn't wait to see her friends. As she passed by people, she could hear them whispering about her.

"She's back." they said in hushed tones that echoed through the empty halls.

She was too excited to pay them any mind, she missed the Host Club and their crazy antics. She reached the door to Music Room #3, knocking slightly before opening it.

The first thing she saw was a red haired boy kneeling to Mori, who had a I'm-so-done-with-this look on his face. Reika tipped toed in without disturbing the scene and sat next to Haruhi.

"Hey, what's going on?" she whispered to her friend.

"That's first year Kasonoda, he wants to be Mori's apprentice and learn how to be friendlier." Haruhi explained. It was such a familiar custom for her to fill Reika in, that she almost didn't notice the fact that her friend was back. "Rei-!"

"Shh." Reika cut her friend off with a smile. "I don't want to disturb anything." she whispered.

Haruhi nodded. "I'm glad you're back." she whispered.

"Me too." Reika whispered back with a smile. They both turned back to the scene in front of them.

"Hey, Takashi?" Honey asked Mori. "Are you okay?"

"I'm just a little light headed." Mori said.

"What now boss?" Hikaru asked Tamaki.

"Don't you think we should do something about this?"

"Just leave them alone." Tamaki said, very out of character and taking Haruhi by surprise. "Don't get involved. Like he said, he wants to be Mori-senpai's apprentice. So that means Mori-senpai decides what to do. This isn't something that any of us should be interfering with."

"Tamaki," Mori said, giving the blond boy a helpless look.

"Well, in that case." Tamaki said, taking full advantage of the situation to do what he does best, get involved and interfer. "Since you insist, Mori-senpai. I, Tamaki Suoh promise you I will do whatever I can to assist you."

"Yeah, right." Haruhi said to Reika. "He wanted to get involved so badly he couldn't bare it." Reika laughed in agreement at her friend's comment.

"Now lift your head, Basanova." Tamaki said to the red head.

"Listen, it's Kasonoda." the boy corrected.

"From now on you may address me as King," Tamaki said, making everyone roll their eyes. "Okay, Basanova?"

"That's not my name." Kasonoda said.

"I bet this is going to happen a lot." Reika commented to Haruhi, who agreed with her. Kyoya and Reika made eye contact, but nothing else.

"Are you listening to me, Basanova?!" Tamaki yelled at the younger boy.

"Yeah." Kasonoda said, taken aback.

"There are many differences between you and our beloved Mori-senpai." Tamaki said. "But there is also one very definitive thing that you are lacking. And that is, a lovely item."

Kasonoda was baffled. "A lovely…" he said. "Item?"

"Basanova, I would like to introduce to you a lovely item name Mitsukuni." Tamaki said pointing at Honey, giggled joyfully before Tamaki continued to talk like he was a infomercial salesman. "Sure, Mori-senpai may be kind of mean looking. He may seem distant when you first meet him. But what if we put Mitsukuni on his shoulder? Suddenly it's like he's a forest teddy bear that all the animals adore! In addition, this lovely item also plays up Mori-senpai's strong and silent character. Even without saying anything, just by placing Honey-senpai next to him people begin to have a newfound admiration for Mori-senpai-"

Reika stopped listening as she looked at Haruhi. "His monologues have gotten longer, haven't they?" she asked Haruhi.

"I guess so." Haruhi said. "I just kind of tune in and out of them."

"I'm not exaggerating when I say that most of Mori-senpai's charm is directly related to his friend, Honey-senpai." Tamaki said.

"Yeah, you're right." the twin and Haruhi came to the same conclusion. Reika and Kyoya just looked at each other and shrugged, it wasn't that big of a secret. Meanwhile, Mori was taken aback by Tamaki's conclusion.

"Now that you mention it," Haruhi said. "Mori-senpai-"

"Doesn't really do anything." Hikaru finished for her.

"Yeah, his position is totally a bust." Kaoru said.

"Takashi?" Honey asked his closest friend in a hurt tone. "Have you really been using me this entire time?" Mori stood up, not knowing what to say, so he just shook his head frantically.

"I'm sorry, but Honey-senpai is on a long-term lease to Mori-senpai right now." Tamaki continued to talk, and slightly damage Honey and Mori's relationship further. "So I can't let you borrow him."

"Is Tama-chan telling the truth?!" Honey asked in tears, while Mori was still trying to deny it by shaking his head furiously. "Are you renting me?!"

"Tamaki, don't you think you've caused enough damage?" Reika asked him.

"Don't worry, Reika." Tamaki said absent mindedly. "I'll come up with something to take his place. So they next thing we need to discuss-"

"Wait a minute, boss." the twins said. "When did Reika get here?"

"What are you boys talking about?" Tamaki said looked away from Kasonoda and to the twins, where he saw Reika sitting right next to Haruhi, waving at him. "Reika?"

"Hey, Tamaki." she said smiling at the baffled looks that Honey, Mori, Tamaki, and the twins gave her.

"Rei-chan!" Honey said tackling her into a hug, his fight with Mori was long forgotten. "We all missed you so much."

"I missed you guys too." Reika said hugging the smaller boy.

"So, did you bring us any presents?" the twins asked her playfully.

"Of course I did." she told them, giving them each a wrapped box and following suit with the other members.

She stopped when she reached Kasonoda who was still on his knees. "Hi, I'm Reika Niigata." she said extending her hand to him.

"I-I-I-" Kasonoda stuttered before getting back to his gruff voice. "I'm not good at talking to girls!" he yelled before leaping behind the couch for cover, taking all the members by surprise.

Reika let out a laugh before sitting on the couch where Kasonoda was hiding behind and giving him a friendly look. "Hey, it's okay." she soothed him. "I don't bite."

Kasonoda stood up. "Hey, why are you being so nice to me?" he asked her in his usual half-yelling voice that would have sent many girls running. "Girls are especially afraid of me."

"I deal with Kyoya on a daily bases." Reika said shrugging, though even saying his name hurt her. "You are just more outright than he is."

"Really?" Kasonoda asked, his voice was a little lower than before. "You're not afraid of me."

"Not one bit." Reika told him. Kasonoda smiled at her and she smiled back.

"You're pretty." Kasonoda said.

Reika laughed. "Thank you." she said.

During that conversation, the rest of the Host Club was having a conversation of their own. "Wow, Reika is really good with him." Tamaki observed.

"What did you expect, boss." Hikaru said started.

"She puts with Kyoya-senpai and his bad moods." Kaoru finished, while Kyoya was pretending not to listen. "Casanova must seem like a piece of cake after that."

"Yum, cake." Honey said looking at the table of sweets.

"Maybe Reika can be be Casanova's lovely item." the twins suggested.

"You're right!" Tamaki said before turning to the boy pretending to taking notes. "Kyoya, would you mind lending Reika to Basanova?"

Kyoya fixed his glasses. "Of course I mind." he said, he was in a bad mood again. "She hasn't been to work in two months, we have a lot to do for the end of the year fair."

"Come on, Kyoya, it will just be for a couple of days." Tamaki begged his friend. "It's not like you can't handle this by yourself."

"I said no." Kyoya said in his usual monotone, even though everyone could tell that he was put out by the situation. He walked up to Reika. "Come, we have work to do." he said before dragging her off by her wrist.

"Hey, don't pull on her like that." Kasonoda said pulling Reika's wrist back.

Kyoya gave the younger boy a malicious glare, which would send a normal person running, but Kasonoda matched the stare.

"It's okay." Reika said to Kasonoda, trying to break the tension in the air. "He does this a lot. It's not a big deal, Kyoya is just the type of person that likes to do things right away."

Kasonoda let go of her wrist while Kyoya held on to it stronger. "Fine." Kasonoda said, the two boys still staring at each other before Kyoya continued to pull Reika off to one of the back rooms.

"Tamaki, do you really think this is a good idea?" Haruhi asked the blond boy. They were still on the other side of the room.

"Kyoya is going to have to deal with his feelings one way or another." Tamaki said, his usual naive voice was gone. "Doing things this way just speed up the process, and if we help Kasonoda along the way, all the better."

Tamaki's smile return to his face before he walked up to Kasonoda. "So the next thing we need to discuss is your disturbing yankee fashion sense." he snapped his fingers. "Now, Hitachiin brothers."

"Sir!" the twins said, saluting.

"It's your job to make this man more fashionable." Tamaki said.

"Roger!" the twins before jumping Kasonoda and giving him the worst makeover on earth.

* * *

Kyoya lead Reika to the back rooms. He let himself calm down for a minute, it was unlike him to be showing so much emotion. Reika let him take his time, searching for the file on Kyoya had on the end of the year fair.

"Now what are you thinking we should do for the parents?" Reika asked him, opening the file.

"What?" Kyoya said confused, something he often was not.

"The Ouran Fair?" she said waving the folder in front of him. "Isn't this what you are so desperate to talk about."

"Um, yeah." Kyoya lied, being caught out of guard. "I mean, yes. Of course."

"Unless you want to about something else." she said, leaving the door open on the conversation they should have had months ago.

"What else is there to talk about?" he asked, not only closing the door but slamming it shut on her face.

She sighed. "Exactly." she said, keeping her impatience to herself. "Now the parents, they are going to want to know the club where their daughters spend their after school hours in."

"Precisely." Kyoya said, once more inadvertently appreciating her perception of situations to come. "We should order twice as much tea and pastries."

"Our fundraiser items have tripled in profit over the last few weeks," Reika said recalling all of the e-mails he sent her about profit increase. It was hard for her to read all those e-mails, hoping that one of them would have some type of secret meaning as to how he was feelings. On the first month of e-mails, she came to the conclusion that she should just accept that they were not going to talk about it. "We should have more than enough money for refreshments and decorations."

"This will be, of course, on the first day of the fair." Kyoya said picking up where she left off. "It is for the parents. For our guests we will do the prince charming theme on the second night, during the parade."

"I will secure the costumes from storage, I take it you have already reserved the carriages?" Reika asked him.

"I am not entirely convenienced we will require more than one carriage." Kyoya said, bringing them back to the same argument they were having in Karuizawa.

"Of course we do. We can't fit seven people in one carriage." Reika argued back.

"Eight." he corrected her.

"What?" she asked him.

"You are part of the Host Club, Reika." he said, taking her aback. "You will undoubtedly join us at the parade."

"Are you serious?" she asked him. She was touched that he would consider her part of the club.

"Yes." he said nonchalantly. Her heart seemed to flutter, only to be smacked down to the ground at his next comment. "And we need someone to wear the princess costume with Haruhi, so she doesn't look like the odd one out."

"Of course." Reika said defeatedly as she tried very hard not to punch Kyoya for getting her hopes up.

Kyoya watched her and her slow anger, a small smile on his face as she looked anywhere but at him. He came to the firsthand conclusion that she really did like him. He continued to steal looks at her all throughout their meeting, he never realized how much he missed her in his everyday life until she left to get food for them.

"This is not good." he said, recalling the stare down he had with Kasonoda only a few hours ago. "This is not good at all."

* * *

The next afternoon, the Host Club was still attempting to help Kasonoda. Kyoya was keeping Reika busy by making her run errands all over town. When she was finally done, she returned to school.

"Excuse me," a younger boy approached her. "Do you know where I may find Ritsu Kasonoda?"

"Oh, yes." Reika said. "Are you one of his friends?"

"I don't know if the young lord would consider us friends." the boy said. "I came to bring him his umbrella."

"Come on in with me." Reika said in a friendly tone while ushering the boy inside the halls of Ouran. "You can give it to him yourself."

"A-are you sure?" the boy asked.

"Of course, come on." she said.

"Okay." he agreeing and entering the school. "Wow, everything is so big."

"I don't believe I know your name." she said to him, distracting him from the size of the school's interior. "My name is Reika Niigata."

"I'm Tetsuya Sendo." he told her. "People usually call me Tetsuya."

"Alright, Tetsuya." she said as they reached Music Room #3. "Welcome to the Host Club."

The welcoming sound of her voice was not enough to soften the blow of surprise that they both came to see. It was a shocking sight, to say the least, when they saw the malignant face of Ritsu Kasonoda in a kitty-eared maid outfit.

"So here you are." Tetsuya said to Kasonoda, who grabbed on to his shirt. Kasonoda's anger and embarrassment was so much that he didn't even realize Reika was standing there. "Sir, it's no big deal. You can do whatever you want on your spare time."

"What?!" Kasonoda yelled. "You think this is a hobby of mine? Dammit, I can't take this anymore!" he said, bolting out the door. Seeing Reika only made him run out faster.

"Young lord!" Tetsuya called after him.

"Seriously?" Reika asked the Host Club, one particular person was happier than the others.

The twins shrugged. "We thought it would be help." they said.

She rolled her eyes at them before turning to Tetsuya. "Don't worry." she told him. "I'll find him."

"No. You won't." Kyoya said plainly. "You have a lot more work to do."

Reika was not in the mood, especially after he had her run stupid errands all day long. "Since when is the fair more important than our guest's well being?" she asked him. "How could even let them do that? I thought that you of all people would know better." she said before walking out of the room and slamming the door shut.

She ran out to find Kasonoda, but her thoughts were far from him. They were focused on a certain tall boy with glasses. Ever since she got back, he had been unusually demanding of her attention for someone who has been avoiding any actual conversation between them. What was wrong with him? It wasn't as if he was jealous, he had made it pretty clear of his disinterest in her. She hadn't seen him act this cruelly since she got those flowers from his brother, and even then she still didn't have a clue as to why he had acted that way. Or what made him stop. Kyoya Ootori was a mystery to her, no matter how hard she tried to understand him, it was like she was putting a puzzle together when she didn't have all the pieces.

Without thinking about it, Reika found herself in the gardens just in time to see Kasonoda come out of the hedge maze.

"Hey," she called out to him as she approached him. "Are you okay?"

"Um," he said looking down embarrassed before he started to explain himself frantically. "I don't usually dress like that! I swear!"

She let out a small laugh. "It's okay." she reassured him. "The twins can get out of hand sometimes, usually Kyoya takes care of them but he's not really himself lately."

"Is Ootori-senpai your boyfriend?" Kasonoda asked shyly.

"No." Reika said. "He is definitely nothing like that."

"That's good." he admitted out loud. He suddenly became distraught when he realized what he said.

She let out a laugh for the boy's good-hearted clumsiness. "And why is that?" she asked him, curious.

"Um, I don't know." he said trying to finding an excuse. "Just because."

There was a chirping coming from the box that Kasonoda was carrying. "What's in the box?" she asked him.

"Oh, it's just a sparrow I found." he said lifting the lid and revealing the little bird, laying comfortably on the box's padding. "He fell out of his nest a couple of days ago. The vet said he would be fine in a couple of days."

"You've taken good care of him." she complimented him, taking a look at the small sparrow. "Can I hold him?"

"Yes, of course." he said holding the box for her to take the small bird out.

"You were lucky that Kasonoda found you, you will be ready to fly in no time." she said smiled at the sparrow as she held it carefully in her hand. She looked up and found Kasonoda watching her. "What is it?"

"You are unlike any person I ever met." he told her. "You're not scared of me, and you're not surprised I'm not a monster."

She smiled at him, shrugging. "People are more than what they show you, Kasonoda." she told him. "Every good heart has a thick skin to protecting it."

He continued to watch her as she played with the bird, it seemed like forever. He didn't even notice the two other people approaching them.

"Niigata-senpai," he said getting her attention. "Will you go out with me?"

"What?" Reika asked taken aback, she had never been asked out before.

"It's okay if you don't want to." he said, looking at the ground, waiting for her rejection.

"No, it's not that. I just never had someone ask me out before." she said.

"Really?" he asked her, surprised.

"Yeah." she said. "I would actually lo-"

"She will have to decline." Kyoya said behind them, he had Haruhi at his side.

"Excuse me?" Reika said to him, not appreciating his interruption.

"This does not concern you, Ootori-senpai." Kasonoda said to the older boy.

"I beg to differ," Kyoya said. "Club rules clearly state that club members are prohibited from dating guests."

Everyone was taken aback. "Come on, Kyoya-senpai." Haruhi tried to reason with him.

"Those are the rules, Haruhi." Kyoya said coldly.

Reika walked past Kyoya and to Haruhi. "Take the sparrow, Haruhi." she told her.

"Sure." Haruhi said confused with the bird in her hands. "But why?"

"I need to have a conversation with Kyoya." Reika said turning to Kyoya, now it was her turn to grab on to his wrist and pull him away to the maze.

"You made your point." Kyoya told her when they were far from the others, pulling his wrist away from her.

"Have I?" Reika asked him, making it clear that she was angry. "Because I don't understand why you think you have any say on my life."

"This is not about you, it's about the club." he said logically.

"Really?" she laughed at him. "Explain to me how this is about the club."

"How would it look if our assistant was seen dating one of our guests?" he asked. "Every girl is going to start to wonder if they can do it too."

"Then I'll quit the Host Club." she said defiantly.

"Don't be rash, Reika." he told her with his usual calmness, even though he was worried she would actually do it. She was angry, and that made her unpredictable.

"You don't think I will?" she asked him, nothing liking how he was belittling her.

"For a criminal like him?" he asked, his tone was cruel. "I would hope not."

"Who are you to judge him?!" she asked, outraged. "I'm done with this. As a matter of fact, I'm done with you!"

She started to walk away. "Let me just ask you one thing," he said, making her stop. "Do you really like him that much?"

"Why do you care so much?" she asked, turning around.

He turned to face her. "Because I didn't give you up so you could be with someone like him." he said.

Her many facial expression passed through her face. Surprise, understanding, irritation, and it finally settled back to anger. "Gave me up?!" she asked him, everything her put her through and this is how he tells her. "Who in hell gave you permission to decide that?!"

"Our feelings don't matter." he told her. "One way or another you are going to get married, and it won't be to me. It's not practical for us to be in a romantic relationship."

"And just get to decide that all by yourself?" she asked him. "Do you have any idea what I went through for the past two months, thinking that you rejected me?"

"I can assure you that those feelings will pass." he said coldly, it took everything for him to say that to her. To push her away instead of pulling her closer.

"Are you sure that's what you want?" she asked him. "What about your feelings? Does that even matter to you?"

"No." he lied.

"Fine!" she said, her anger was back. "I guess I'll go and get married to Nekozawa, then. If you want me to marry someone else that badly!"

Kyoya's anger started to flare up when he heard Nekozawa's name, he didn't have anything in particular against the third year. He simply didn't like how it was his name that first came up on her mind, because it was the exact person he was worried would be one of her suitors. Nekozawa did come from a powerful family, he could give Reika what Kyoya thought he lacked. They were childhood friends, which made Nekozawa a likely choice. Kyoya didn't like that, he hated how he could see it happening in his mind. He needed to get that image out of his head before it drove him crazy.

He pulled her back by her wrist forcibly, she crashed on chest and he pulled her closer. "Don't you dare." he said, looking into her eyes as he leaned down and kissed her.


	17. The Relationship Conundrum!

**Chapter 17**

**The Relationship Conundrum!/Tamaki's Unwitting Depression!**

* * *

It was an odd sensation, Reika had never been on the receiving end of a kiss. Not that she had much authority on the matter to begin with. It her second kiss, and unlike Kyoya, she had no idea how to reply to the gesture. She stood there, millions of thoughts racing through her mind not a single one making any sense, until her brain told her to shut up and enjoy it. With Kyoya, who knew when this would ever happen again?

He started to pull away when Reika put her hand on the back of his neck, getting on the tip of her toes as she to kiss him back, even though she was a bit of an amateur about it. She wanted to tell him, in that moment, that she wasn't backing down. Kyoya rose to the challenge. His brain not working that well either as all their problems, which would come down on them sooner or later, were forgotten.

Until a certain set of brothers decided to check on them. "Reika-senpai, Kyoya-senpai?" they called out to the hedge maze as they approached them, the couple was oblivious. "Are you guys ok-" the words of concerned died as the twins saw the scene in front of them, both their jaws were on the ground.

Reika and Kyoya both noticed at the same time, they eyes were wide open before they even broke apart. They looked at the twins, expecting confusion or even disgust. But the look that replaced Hikaru's and Kaoru's shock was none other than playfulness.

"I get to tell the boss!" they said at the same time without meaning to.

"No, I will!" Kaoru said as they started running out of the hedge maze.

"Not if I get there first!" Hikaru replied.

"You get Kaoru, I'll get Hikaru." Kyoya said at the same time as Reika said, "You get Hikaru, I'll get Kaoru."

They smiled at each other for their matching plan, it had been a while since they were this in sync with each other. Without any words, they began to run after the twins. Following them from the gardens and into the school.

"Get back here!" Reika shouted at Kaoru as he dodged her. He laughed at her attempts to catch him.

Hikaru thought he was going to beat his brother when he reached the hallway of Music Room #3, when he saw Kyoya's dark and maleficent shadow waiting for him at the door.

"Now, where do you think you're going, Hikaru?" Kyoya said to the boy, scaring him to the bone.

"Jeez, Kyoya-senpai." Hikaru said, trying to keep himself from shaking.

"Do you really think that telling Tamaki would be such a good idea?" Kyoya asked the younger boy with a dangerous smile. "Or anyone else for a matter."

"Because I don't think it would." Reika said on the other side of the hall where she cornered Kaoru, making him fear her as much as Hikaru was fearing Kyoya at the moment. "Don't you agree?"

Both twins nodded, at the same time and for the same reason, even if they couldn't see each other.

"Great!" Reika said, her smile was back on her face as she helped him up from the floor.

"Explendid." Kyoya said to Hikaru was he moved away from the door, the shadow leaving his face. He saw Reika approaching with Kaoru, she nodded at him and Kyoya nodded back.

"Now that we've all reached an agreement," Reika said, her voice was cheerful even though the 'agreement' was reached through scaring tactics. "Why did you guys come get us?"

The twins eyes widened as they remembered. "Come on!" they said. Each grabbed one of Reika's wrists as they pulled her into Music Room #3 while Kyoya casually followed.

"What is this about?" Reika asked. While just in time to see Kasanoda walk out of the the dressing room with an embarrassed-frantic look he always had when situations got awkward. "Haruhi is in there, isn't she." she said, but the twins weren't paying attention to her.

"Peeping tom." they said in union, an unlikely anger in their eyes that made Kasanoda scream.

"You saw," Hikaru started. "Didn't you, Basanova." Kaoru finished.

"No!" Kasanoda said shaking his head. "I didn't see. I mean, I caught a glance. Yeah. But it was also fast, and I didn't - it was just an accident. I swear to you that I am not a pervert."

That when the rest of the Host Club members showed up, Tamaki looked like the world had just ended for him.

"Of course, you would say that." Honey said walking up to Kasanoda. His sweet and cheery voice was replaced by a cold and cruel one, making him the scary one in the room, and that's saying something. "Sure sign of a guilty conscience."

Kasanoda shook in fear before he steadied himself. "So, Fujioka is a girl?" he asked.

"Red alert, his on to Haruhi's little secret." Kaoru said.

"That's not good." Hikaru said.

"I'm surprised you're not interrupting them, Reika." Kyoya said, reverting back to his rude self to her. He assumed they would just forget about that, like they had all other 'incidents'.

Reika laughed and rolled her eyes, not surprised. "I'm not in the mind set for that right now." she said, teasing him. "I have other matters on my mind."

Kyoya was taken aback, he caught her meaning all to well. Before he could ask or object, she turned back to the twins conversation with Kasanoda.

"So, let's hear it." Kaoru said.

"How much of her maidenly-tender-incognito did you actually see?"

Kasanoda looked down, embarrassed. "Well, she was changing. So I saw her underwear." he admitted.

"You saw Haruhi's underwear?!" the twins asked scandalized. Meanwhile, Tamaki died a little more on the inside.

"So what do we do?" Kaoru asked.

"There's only one thing to do." Hikaru said as Kaoru got behind Kasanoda. "We have to induce amnesia. Hold him." he said as he got a bat.

"Okay," Reika said, eyes wide at the sudden violence. "I know you're enjoying this, but this is getting a little too far, don't you think?" she asked Kyoya.

Kyoya looked at her and sighed. "Hold it." he said to the twins who were about to hit Kasanoda with a baseball bat. "That's enough you two, leave assault and battery to the professionals."

"That's not what I meant!" Reika whispered disapprovingly. He ignored her.

"What are you, made of ice?" Kaoru asked. "How can you be so calm about this?"

"Look," Hikaru said pointing at Tamaki who was sitting in a dark corner of the room. "The boss is so deep in shock, he's regressing."

"Well, now that the proverbial cat is out of the bag." Kyoya said fixing his glasses. "Let's talk. Haruhi is compelled to hide the fact that she's a girl due to certain...mitigating circumstances. While we can't physically force you to cooperate, exactly, there is something I would like for you to bare in mind. Coming from the sort of family you do, I'm certain you hear all sorts of juicy little rumors. Enough to know what is true and what is not. Take the Ootori family's private police force, the Black Onion Squad. It is said that they can be mobilized against our enemies at the blink of an eye." He stopped, flashing a smile. "You have heard of them, right?"

"How long have you been waiting to say that?" Reika whispered to him, smugly. Almost breaking his cool and threatening evil vibe, because he knew she had a point. He wanted to make that threat for quite a while now. Seeing the face of the younger boy who had tried to match his glares now in fear, was rewarding, a treasured moment. Not that he would admit that, to anyone.

"Come on, stop scaring Kasanoda." Haruhi said coming out of the dressing room fully dressed in her school uniform. "Sorry about this." she said to Kasanoda.

"Hey, Fujioka." Kasanoda said.

"Look, it's alright." Haruhi told him. "It doesn't really matter to me. You can tell whomever you want to." Kasanoda was taken aback, as he blushed.

"Well, well, Basanova." Hikaru said.

"Since you know she's a girl," Kaoru said. "Are you in love?"

"Guys!" Reika said going to check on Tamaki. "Don't sent Tamaki in an even bigger shock."

The twins laughed nervously as Tamaki started to scream, their words registering in his mind as Reika tried to calm him down. "Sorry, boss." the twins shrugged apologetically.

"Why would Tamaki be in shock?" Haruhi asked, thick-headedly.

Reika decided to ignore that comment. "Tamaki, can you hear me?" she asked the blond boy who was spacing out.

"Just leave him. He will get over it eventually." Kyoya said, grabbing her hand to pull her up.

She wasn't prepared for that, and ended up closer to him than either of them intended. It wasn't an awkward hug like last time, they just stood entirely too close to each other. Making them both remember that last time they stood this close. Reika blushed and stepped back at the same time Kyoya did. The twins gave each other knowing looks.

"Is is hot in here." Reika said the most cliched thing that came to mind to get Kyoya out of the room.

"I'll go turn off the heater." Kyoya said disappearing into one of the back rooms.

"The heater isn't even on." Mori commented to himself.

Honey approached the mentally absent Tamaki. "Let's go, Tama-chan." he said to the younger boy. "We'll make sure you get home, okay?"

Tamaki mumbled a few incoherent words as Mori carried him away.

"I should probably go too." Haruhi said. "Bye guys."

"Wait," the twins said following after her. "We'll take you home."

"No, thank you." she said dismissively as the door closed behind them.

"I guess it's just you and me." Reika said to Kasanoda after a few minutes of awkward silence.

"Listen, about the date…" Kasanoda trailed off, looking at the ground.

"Oh, yeah." Reika remembered. "About that…"

"I don't think I can go out with you." they said in union. They both laughed when they realized they said the same thing.

"Ootori-senpai scares me." he admit with a smile, almost relieved. "And I think I like someone else."

"Really?" she asked grateful. "That's wonderful."

"Yeah." he agreed sheepishly.

"Then it all worked out for the best." Reika said. "You like someone else and I like Kyoya."

"I thought you said he wasn't your boyfriend." Kasanoda said, almost teasing her about her.

"He isn't." she said. "But I think he likes me."

"Isn't it obvious that he does?" he asked her.

"What?" she asked surprised at his insight.

"Yeah." he said. "It's really obvious. Didn't you see how angry he was when I asked you out, or whenever I talk to you?"

"I can't say that I have." she admitted.

"Then maybe you should be paying more attention." he said reaching for the doorknob. "Bye, Niigata-senpai. It was fun."

"It was." she agreed. "Good luck with the person you like."

"Good luck with him." he said smiling as he pointed at the room Kyoya had gone into. She laughed to herself as he closed the door behind him.

Reika approached the door. "I guess it's time to start paying attention." she said to herself as she walked inside.

* * *

She found Kyoya working, like always. "We have to talk." she said.

"I agree." he said not looking up. "The only auctions-"

"Not about that." she cut him off. She sat on the side of the table, pushing his folder aside. "It's teaching time."

"I don't have time for that today, Reika." he said looking over his folder, not once looking at her. She snatched the folder from his hand with a smile on her face as she sat on it. Making him look at her in shock.

"And today I'm going to teach you how you properly talk to someone after they kiss you." she said like the last minute hadn't happened.

He stood up from his chair. "I don't have time for this." he said coldly.

"Oh, I think you do." she said pushing him down on his chair. "Now, if Kasanoda can tell that you like me before I do, I have a problem with that."

"Kasanoda is an idiot." he deadpanned, trying to discredit the boy. "He couldn't even tell that Haruhi's true gender. How can you think that he picked up on the questionable fact that I like you."

She looked him in the eye and leaned in close to see his reaction. She smiled at what she saw. "Because you do." she whispered to herself.

"So you take his word over mine?" he asked her.

"Anytime." she teased him, his eyes narrowed at her. "If you disagree so much, how about we look at the evidence?"

"Evidence?" he asked dubiously.

"You took me on a date." she said raising her thumb, he tried to argue but she cut him off. "You were jealous of both Nekozawa and Kasanoda, don't even try to deny that one." she raised her pointer and middle finger along with her thumb. "You worried about when I sick. More than anyone. You comforted me when I was looking for Haruhi." five fingers. "You wanted me to stay at your family's chalet in Karuizawa. Every moment you asked me to forget. And you kissed me." she finished with ten fingers in the air.

"Your point?" he asked, not as surprised as he was on the inside.

"My point," she said, not discouraged in the least. "Is that you do like me, even if you won't admit it."

"And if I do like you?" he asked her. "Where does that take us?"

"Anywhere." she said.

"Specifically." he said coldly.

"Nothing in the future is specific." she told him. "Is that what you're worried about?"

"You do realize that our engagement will be broken in a few years, that is if it even survives the first." he told her. "You will find a more suitable match later on in life with powerful company."

She tried to look at him seriously before she started to laugh at him. Kyoya was confused, something that he hated. Especially since it meant that she knew something that he didn't.

"A powerful suitor?" she asked in-between laughter. "I'm afraid you don't know my mother, or your father for the matter, if you think that's the deal they have with this engagement."

"What don't I know about this, Reika?" Kyoya said seriously.

Reika stopped laughing. "You really don't know, do you?" she asked him. "My mother wants me to marry someone who can manage both companies with me, not someone to take them over with their own company. Your father, who by the way is the one who put this idea in my mother's head, wants to keep business flowing through our companies. So I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but this engagement is here to stay."

"This is real?" Kyoya asked shocked.

"Of course it is." she said. "Did you even read the contract you signed?"

"But I'm the third son." he said.

"That's why you're perfect." she said. "You don't control the Ootori Group, so you won't take over S&amp;A and Niigata Enterprises. Didn't I already explain this?"

"So you're getting married," he said, trying to get over the fact of how much he had been blindsided by this new information. "To me?"

"Preferably, yes." she said to him. She took one look at him and she could practically see his mind turning upside down. "Are you okay?"

"Give me a minute." he said standing up and walking away from the room.

"He really didn't read that contract, did he." she said to herself, she shook her head in disapproval as she watched the door. "Who doesn't read the contracts they sign?"

Kyoya was passing on the main room, his head was turning at the new facts. This had never happened to him, he had never been this surprised before. Not even by Tamaki. Who was that girl? She was a mystery to him, and every single thing involving her was a whole lot more complicated than he originally thought.

She wasn't only a powerful heiress of one company but two. She wasn't just smart but she was beautiful. She wasn't just in the Host Club but she was in his life. She wasn't just his assistant but his friend. She wasn't just a mystery but his mystery. She wasn't just engaged to him but she was _really _engaged to him. She wasn't just his friend but she was the girl he had come to love.

_Love._ That word echoed in his mind. No, that couldn't possibly be it. But it was. He knew it, and he was so tired of deny himself that. He was wrong. Something that he rarely ever was, and he couldn't be happier about it now. She was his, only his. He would make sure of that now.

He bursted back into the back room. Reika jumped in surprise from the the table.

"Hey, Kyoya." she said, worried about the crazy look on his face. "A-are you okay?"

Kyoya straightened up his posture. Going from frantic madman to the cool Host in a two seconds flat. He walked up to her in his usual finesse, this confused her in multiple ways and he love it. He had her back up on the table, trapped when he decided to speak.

"I'm terrific." his whispered in her ear, making her blush at the intimacy. "And do you know why?"

"W-w-why?" she stuttered at his sudden change of mood, kicking herself for reacting that way.

He chuckled in her ear. "Because now I know you're all mine." he told her.

His comment was just the kickstart her brain needed. She placed her pointer finger on his chest, where the school emblem was. "When did you ever doubt that?" she teased him as she walked him backwards so they were in the middle of the room instead of trapping her by the table. "Because I never doubted you were mine."

He laughed. "Then why did you feel it was necessary to point out the evidence?" he asked her playfully.

"So you would know." she lied, and pretty convincingly at that.

"Really?" he asked her, not fully convinced.

"Really." she agreed.

"Then why even consider Nekozawa?" he asked, partially worried about it.

"Why?" she asked. "Getting jealous again?"

"I was never jealous." he denied.

"Well, Nekozawa is cute." she said. He gave her a pointed look. "But he's not you. And, I mean, who would be?" a hopeful moment turned sour, again, and it was a sweet revenge for her.

"Nicely played." he told her.

"Thank you." she said.

"Are you hungry?" he asked her.

"After the day we had, I'm starving." she told him.

"Great." he said escorting her out of Music Room #3. "Let's get dinner."

"Together?"

"I think it will be nice change of pace, don't you?"

Reika laughed in agreement as they disappeared down the hall.

* * *

It was the next day, the Host Club was entertaining a variety of girls that. It was like any other day.

"We have to tell them." Reika whispered to Kyoya.

"Now?" he asked her.

"Before the fair." she said. "They're our friends, they deserve to hear it from us first."

Just as Kyoya was about to respond, the doors of the Host Club open and Kasanoda walked in. Needless to say, the guests were more than interested on the new arrival.

He walked up and sat on one of the couches. "I would like to request Fujioka." he said, taking the girls by pleasant surprise.

"I'm surprised you let him in." Reika said to Kyoya.

"He's a paying customer." Kyoya told her.

"Is that it?" she asked, knowing it wasn't. He gave her a knowing smile and walked away.

And then Renge showed up to stare at the romantic action up close and personal with the rest of the guests.

"What is going on, Reika-senpai?" the twins asked her when suddenly their guests were gone.

"You should go see it for yourself." Reika said smiling. "I quite can't describe it into words."

Intrigued, the twins got up from their area to go see what had all the guests in an uproar. Reika remained, collecting the empty cups of tea that were left.

"Hey, don't just stand there, Kyoya-senpai." Kaoru said, ticked off after watching the scene in front of him. "Get him out of here."

"If he's getting along with his goons so well now, why does he need to be here in the first place?" Hikaru asked.

Kyoya just keep scribbling on his folder unbothered. "He has kept Haruhi's secret so far." he said. "And, since he is after a paying guest, I can see no reason to eject him."

"But the other guests are afraid of him!" the twins tried to reason.

"Oh, no. I think not." Kyoya said bursting their bubble as he pointed to the where the girls were fawning over Haruhi and Kasanoda. "Observe."

"The look on his face is just priceless." one of the guests said.

"I have never someone so in love before." said another.

That's when the guests started to call their friends to come and watch, soon enough the Music Room #3 would be filled with girls fanning over the two 'boys'.

"See." Kyoya said. "We're just fine. Thanks to him, we may even set a new record."

"You money grubbing enabler!" the twins cursed him. Reika laughed at their reaction as she was passing by. "Why are you letting him do this? Did you like Basanova?"

Reika stopped and looked at them. "I think we all know that didn't work out." she said referring to the moment they caught her on the previous day. The twins looked at each other, remembering and smiling deviously only to be shot down by her. "Don't even think about it. Kyoya is not one for being silently blackmailed."

The twins sighed. "You're right." they said.

"Wow, usually you guys wouldn't waste any time interrupting the two of them." Honey said.

"Yeah, but our hands are tied after our screw up at Karuizawa." Hikaru said. "Haruhi would never forgive us if we butted in."

Kaoru turned around to look at his brother. "Karuizawa was really you're screw up, Hikaru." he pointed out to his brother.

They looked at each other before turning to the pale Tamaki. "Hey boss, are you done being shell shocked yet?" Hikaru asked.

"Yeah." Kaoru agreed. "We could really use our king right about now."

"Go get him!" the twins shouted as they pushed Tamaki in to go talk to Haruhi.

Tamaki walked over to Haruhi and Kasanoda like a robot, acting the very opposite of his eccentric and lively self.

"This is not going to end well." Reika commented, covering her eyes.

"How could anything go wrong?" the twins said.

"We are talking about Tamaki and Haruhi, right?" Reika asked them.

They thought about for a minute. "I see your point." they said.

The Host Club members watched the sad scene in front of them. Tamaki playing with the toy that Haruhi gave him and seeing him beam when he finished getting the pieces apart only so she would ask him to put it together.

"That moron." the twins said, driving them to the edge of reason.

Hikaru took out his phone. "Earth to boss," he said to Tamaki at the other end. "Would you snap out of it already. The longer you sit there like an idiot playing robot, the worst the situation becomes for all of us."

"Ma." Tamaki responded.

"Now, listen to me carefully." Hikaru said. "You can't let this happen! If she and that two bit thug hit it off she is going to spend her life as a mob wife!"

That got Tamaki's attention as the scene he imagined of Haruhi as a mob wife snapped him out of it. "What? Now way." Tamaki said into the phone. He stood up now with a fierce anger in his eyes. "Daddy won't stand for that!" he shouted.

"Um, please don't do this." Haruhi said, knowing exactly where this was going.

"Basanova!" Tamaki yelled, grabbing on to the first year's jacket. "Just what do you think you're trying to do here?! You established a bond with your henchman, didn't you? Why aren't you with them right now!"

"You tell him, sir!" Hikaru said proudly.

"Yeah!" Kaoru said.

"What about kick the can?!" Tamaki continued. "You remember that? You should be out there enjoying life to the fullest with your friends when you're still young enough to appreciate it before it all slips away right under your nose! Why are you harassing my Haruhi?! As her father I forbid you to see her."

Kasanoda stood there, taking all of that in. "Wait." he said. "What? You're telling me you're Fujioka's dad?" there was a silence when he saw that Tamaki wasn't kidding. "You've got to be kidding me. That's just not possible."

"Oh, no." Hikaru said as the anger slowly faded off of Tamaki's eyes as he realized that Kasanoda was right.

"He's pinned the boss into a corner." Kaoru said.

"Well, we might not be related by blood." Tamaki said slowly, trying to process this.

"Okay, so what?" Kasanoda asked. "Are you married to her mom, then?"

Another silence for Tamaki, as he began to sweat. "No, as a matter of fact, I never met the woman."

Kasanoda looked at him angrily. "So I guess you're really not her father, are you?" he said, crushing Tamaki's delusions.

Tamaki went pale before Honey caught him. "He's right, you know." Tamaki said defeated. "Strictly speaking, I'm not Haruhi's real father."

"Um, strictly speaking or otherwise?" the twins asked, very worried about the depth of their king's denial. Tamaki passed out for a minute, making everyone worry.

"Hey, look." Kaoru said when Tamaki came to. "He's waking up."

"I need to sort this out." Tamaki said.

"Sort what out, exactly?" Kaoru asked concerned.

"If, supposing, I'm not my Haruhi's daddy after all-" Tamaki's delusions were interrupted by Hikaru.

"We don't have to suppose it, boss." Hikaru said.

"Then how could it be that I find her so utterly adorable." Tamaki asked.

"Oh, this is it." Reika said to herself, too hopeful to last.

"Um, what are you talking about?" Kaoru asked for an explanation.

"When she is with another man, why is that I become so insanely jealous?" Tamaki asked.

"Maybe you can help him out with that one." Reika whispered to Kyoya, who glared at her.

"I am not her father." Tamaki said. "I have no right to be so protective. No right whatsoever."

"So then...um, tell me what exactly is with the whole making Haruhi your wife one day thing?" Hikaru asked.

Tamaki looked up. "I know." he said. "Daddy's don't typically want to marry their little girls when they are all grown up, do they?"

"What about keeping her from kissing anyone?" Kaoru asked.

"I only wanted to preserve those precious lips." Tamaki said.

"Preserve? Really?" Kaoru asked, looking a little ticked off. "That's a very interesting choice of words, sir. You think that everything is absolutely perfect just the way it is now. And having this family setting will keep it all from changing, right?"

"Hey, Kaoru?" Hikaru said inquisitive to his brother's sudden anger towards Tamaki's weird family dynamic lunacy.

"I don't understand." Tamaki said. Making Kaoru even angrier for the blond's idiocy.

"Actually," Kyoya said. "He's got a point. I mean, you're delusional, yes. Any halfwit could see that. But who knew that you were so…" he trailed off.

"Tama-chan is completely blind when it comes to himself." Honey put in.

"Aren't we all?" Reika commented.

"Kaoru?" Hikaru asked his brother. "Just what did you mean by things changing?"

"Oh, nothing." Kaoru said, feeling defeated. "Just a little theory I have. Which I'm probably completely wrong about."

On the other side of the room. Kasanoda and Haruhi were talking. "Hey, do you think that everything is alright over there?" Kasanoda asked Haruhi. "I mean, I didn't say anything to set him off, did I?"

"Who knows." Haruhi said. "Although, when I think about. Tamaki-senpai is like my dad in some ways."

Which, of course, Tamaki heard that. He sat up all of the sudden and started to laugh. "Did you hear that gentlemen?" he asked. "Apparently, in some ways I am like Haruhi's father."

"And we're back." Reika groaned.

"Well, to be more precise." Kyoya said to Tamaki. "I think what's she's saying is that while you and her father do share some personality traits in actuality-"

"I've got it!" Tamaki cut him off. "I've got it now! I am like a father to her."

"And we've lost him yet again." Kyoya said, not surprised.

Now back to the show stopper. "Fujioka, do you think we could do this more often?" Kasanoda asked Haruhi. "Because I was just thinking that since you entertain girls all day long it might give you a break from all that. You know, if I came around. I mean! If-if you want that, that is."

Haruhi looked at him for a minute and smiled. "Absolutely." she said. "That way you and I could get more acquainted."

"Here it comes!" Renge announced to everyone.

Reika shook her head. "No, here it goes." she said to herself. "Down the drain."

Everyone was in deep expectation of what was about to happen next.

Kasanoda's legs shook as he tried to summon the courage. "Fujioka, I…" he started to say, but he stopped and just stared at her, the words refused to come out. He swallowed. "I-um…have something to say. I just wanted to tell you...I just wanted...to tell you...that I'm..."

Haruhi smiled and finished his sentence for him. "That you're excited to have someone to you can relate to, aren't you?" she said, thick-headed and clueless as ever. She stood up. "I know I sure am. A conversation like this is a rare thing for me. We are going to be great friends."

"Ouch." Reika said trying to hold in her laughter for the amount of disappointment going around the room at Haruhi's obliviousness.

"Uh-oh." Renge said. "Hung out to try." at least he had the guests at his sympathetic side.

But Kasanoda took the rejection well. "Of course we're going to be friends." he said. "Best of friends. Forever!"

"Basanova!" the twins and Honey cried in empathy to the boy, as did the guests.

"How lovely!" Renge said in fangirl mode. "How absolutely beautiful!"

"You've moved us to tears!" the guests said together as all the empathizers went to go comfort poor Kasanoda.

"What's the matter Tamaki?" Kyoya asked his friend.

"When I think about how Basanova must have been feeling, my heart goes out to him a little." Tamaki said.

Kyoya and Reika looked at each and smiled. Maybe something did change today. "That's strange, isn't it?" Kyoya asked. "I mean as Haruhi's father, you shouldn't feel sympathy for the man who tried to take your precious little girl away, now should you?"

"Don't push it." Reika whispered to him. "I think he'll realize sooner than you know."

* * *

After a hearty game of kick the can, the Host Club members waved goodbye to their guests and retired to Music Room #3.

"What do you guys want to do now?" Tamaki asked as he was back in high spirits.

"Actually, Reika and I have an announcement to make." Kyoya said standing up.

"Oh, what is it?" the twins asked.

"Are we having a new photo shoot?" Hikaru asked.

"Or a new field trip." Kaoru asked.

"It's not work related." Reika said standing up with Kyoya.

"Oh, really?" the twins said smiling evilly to one another.

"There is no formal way of saying this, so I'll just say it." Kyoya said with his usual monotone. "Reika and I are engaged."

They were expecting gasps, shock, and awe. But there was nothing. Absolutely nothing, none of the Host members even blinked.

"Yeah, so?" Haruhi asked. "We know."

"What?!" Reika said surprised, the way she thought everyone would be surprised. Kyoya looked at Tamaki and laughed, finally understanding. "Does anyone want to fill me in?"

"Remember those flowers you got, Rei-chan?" Honey asked. "From Kyo-chan's brother."

"Yeah." she said.

"Tamaki-senpai had us investigate." Haruhi said.

"Turned out the flower didn't come from Akito Ootori." Kaoru said.

"They came from Mr. Ootori, Kyoya-senpai's dad." Hikaru said.

"Okay, that's weird." Reika admitted. "But that still doesn't explain anything."

"You see, Reika." Tamaki said standing up to explain. "Mr. Ootori wanted to see how much Kyoya cared about you. He wanted Kyoya to look into who ordered the flowers. But since we were the one looking into it, not Kyoya, Mr. Ootori explained everything to us instead of Kyoya."

Reika turned around to face Kyoya. "That's why you didn't know about the arrangement." she said. He nodded. She laughed, shaking her head before turning back to the Host Club. "Why didn't you guys say anything to us?"

"We figured you would tell us when you were ready." Haruhi said, hugging her friend. "Congratulations."

"Thank you." Reika said.

"Congratulations, Kyoya!" Tamaki said excited, putting his arm around his best friend's shoulder. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting to say this!"

After a lot of congratulations from all of the Host Club members. Renge decided to show up for the second time that day.

"Did I hear someone say congratulations?" she asked emerging from the stage on the floor.

"Rei-chan and Kyo-chan are engaged, Ren-chan!" Honey announced.

"Is that so?" Renge said stepping down from her stage. "Well, congratulations you two. I knew you would bounce back after our break up, Kyoya."

"Break up?" Reika asked Kyoya, both intrigued and slightly angry.

"Oh, don't feel bad, it was before your time." Renge said to Reika. "And don't think you can compete with the memories we made."

"Excuse me?!" Reika said, angrier than she meant to. Kyoya smiled to himself even though he was annoyed with Renge. "What memories?"

"Look at the time." Renge said. "I got to go." she said hopping back on her stage and going back down.

Reika turned to Kyoya, arms crossed as she looked at him. "You want to explain this?" she asked.

He smiled at her. "Look who's jealous now." he teased her.

"I am not jealous, Ootori!" she told him, making everyone laugh.

Eventually Haruhi told her Renge and Kyoya's story, setting everything straight. But that didn't stop Kyoya from reminding Reika every time he could that she was jealous.


	18. Old Enemies, New Threat!

**Chapter 18**

**Old Enemies, New Threat!/The Host Club Declares Dissolution!**

* * *

It was the day before Ouran's forty-third annual fair, and Music Room #3 was just as packed as any other day. Girls were flocking the Host members from left to right as they gushed about how excited they were about introducing their parents to each of them. Meanwhile, girls attempted to lobby their favorite Host to dance with them at the opening ceremony. Some even went as far as flirting with Kyoya to make their dream a reality.

Which meant that Reika had floor seats for the show as she went around serving. She showed slight irritation as she bluntly laid down the tea cups that she refilled, but never went further than that as she continued to smile and wait on the guests.

Haruhi stopped her as Reika was making her way to the kitchen. "Doesn't this bother you, Reika?" Haruhi asked her friend concerned. "Having the guests flirting with Kyoya-senpai?"

Reika turned around to face the scene with a genuine smile on her face. "It's annoying, yes. But I'm not really bothered by it." she said.

"Why not?" Haruhi asked confused. "You were jealous when Renge implied that she and Kyoya-senpai had a relationship.

"First, I was not jealous. Second," she said catching Kyoya's eyes as they smiled to each other. "Is because of this. Because I know that no matter how many girls are around him, I'm the only one that makes him smile like that."

"Really?" Haruhi asked, her attention drifted to another boy in the room who was flocked by guests.

Reika looked from Haruhi and to the blond boy she was staring at. Tamaki caught Haruhi's stare and smile back to her before returning to his guests. "Yes, I do." Reika said smiling to herself.

"Reika, please join me." Kyoya called her over.

"Excuse me." Reika said to Haruhi, making the younger girl come back from reality.

"Y-yeah, I should probably get back to my guest." Haruhi said a little out of balance. Making Reika laugh to herself satisfied at her friend's consciousness of her emerging feelings.

"What can I do for you?" Reika asked Kyoya was she was by his side.

"Please convey to our guests my disappointing unavailability at the opening ceremony." Kyoya said, giving her a hidden smile in his eyes.

"And why would that be?" she asked him coyly as she ignored the twenty-something guests surrounding them. How many of them wanted to dance with him, she didn't even want to know.

"Because the honor will be awarded to my fiance." he said standing up to face her. The girls gasped.

"I didn't know Kyoya was engaged." one of the girls.

"This makes me so sad." said another, near tears.

"Who is she?" the questioned echoed.

She smiled knowingly as she was touched by his gesture. "I will be sure to tell her." she said. "I'm positive she will be very happy."

"I'm counting on that." Kyoya told her, taking her right hand and pressing a kiss on the outside bend of her fingers. Everyone was shocked, even Reika's eyes were wide as they all stood frozen in that moment for a minute, taking it all in. Kyoya smiled at the reactions, slowly letting go of her hand as it fell back to her side. He stood closer to her. "Now please return to your duties."

She blinked once, twice before she overcame the shock of the audience. "Of course." she said, her voice was strong as she acted like nothing had happened.

As soon as she stepped out of the room, the world was back in order. And everything remained in order as the guests were used to, until the end of the day when only Kyoya and Reika remained in Music Room #3.

"Bye, Rei-chan! Bye, Kyo-chan!" Honey waved to the remaining Host members. "Don't work too hard!"

"Have a good day, Honey-senpai. Mori-senpai." Reika waved back as they left the room. When the door closed she stalked over to Kyoya, who was too busy typing on his computer to notice her. "That was surprising." she said from behind him.

Kyoya stopped and closed his computer before standing up to face her. "To which part are you referring to?" he asked nonchalantly.

"Everything." she said, matching his calmness to the subject. "From your rejection the request of our guests so you could dance with me at the opening ceremony, to your sudden public display of affection."

"And which part did you find dissatisfying?" he asked her, a tone playfulness in his voice. He was inching closer to her, just as she was.

"Neither." she said smiling. "I never said it was dissatisfying, simply surprising."

"Ah, yes." he said, his hand was on her waist now. "I forgot how much you love surprises."

"Only if the surprise is a pleasant one." she said, her hands on his shoulders. They were moving in for a kiss, when…

"Is this what you guys call flirting?" Hikaru asked, interrupting the moment. The couple sprang apart in record time. Kyoya was back to typing on his computer as Reika walked up to the twins.

"Oh, leave them alone, Hikaru." Kaoru teased. "They don't know any other ways to flirt."

"I thought you two left." Reika said coolly.

"Which makes me wonder," Hikaru started, ignoring Reika's inquiry.

"How long have you guys been doing this when we're gone?" Kaoru asked a valid question.

"Did you leave anything behind?" Reika asked, deciding not to address their questions.

"I bet it has been a long time." Hikaru said, having an entirely different conversation with his brother. "The two of them alone everyday after school."

"I can help you look if you want." Reika said, attempting (and failing) to chance the subject.

"Who knows what they did?" Kaoru said. Driving both Reika and Kyoya to insanity at the twins' presumptuous assumptions.

"Since you're here, you can help us setup for tomorrow." Reika said tossing the costumes for tomorrow. "These need to go in order of events. From the opening ceremony tuxedos, to the morning Host suits, the evening Host suits, and the extras that Tamaki ordered."

"Maybe-" Hikaru started to say but Reika shoved them into the dressing room.

Reika closed her eyes and sighed, she had just enough of their assumptions. It wasn't her fault that people tended to walk in on them at the worst possible moment. She felt something grab her hand, she looked up and saw Kyoya. He was pulling her towards the door.

"How about we go out for dinner?" he asked.

She smiled. "That would be perfect." she said. They both walked out of the Music Room #3, with no intentions to coming back.

* * *

After the speeches and introductions, the student body president opened the doors of Ouran Academy and the orchestra began to play, signifying the start of the 43rd annual school fair. The Host Club members each searched the crowd for the lucky guest they had chosen to dance with at the opening ceremony. Except for Tamaki, who was dancing with several girls at once.

As for Kyoya, he extended his hand to the girl standing next to him, the guests who were secretly watching as they danced with their own partners all gasped as they saw Reika take his hand. Suddenly everything made sense to them, which made the oblivious guests more than a little angry at the discovery.

"Are sure this was how you wanted the guests to find out?" Reika asked Kyoya as they started to dance.

"Many of our guests were already aware of our engagement." Kyoya said logically. "This is a simple formality for our less-than-informed guests to understand our situation."

"A polite announcement." Reika agreed. She knew he was playing the excuse game again, and decided to join him. "Not to mention, it would be very confusing to other if they saw us dancing with someone else. Specially our parents."

"Precisely." Kyoya said smiling. He particularly enjoyed the way she could follow his lead so easily, just as she could follow hers. There was a moment of silence as they both relished the dance.

The song was about to reach it's finale when Reika decided to speak. "Are you ready?" she asked him.

"I would rather not think of it." he said sincerely.

"If anything goes wrong, I'm going to be right next to you." she tried to comfort him. The musicians put down their instruments and everyone clapped before the musicians started on the second song.

The Host Club members excused themselves from their partners and followed Kyoya and Reika back to the school building. The girls changed outfits first, Haruhi into her morning Host suit and Reika into a more presentable dress rather than her maid outfit. Reika and Kyoya both agreed that the maid dress would not be appropriate for the parents to see her dressed in at the school fair.

Once the girls left, the boys occupied the dressing room. "Are you excited about today?" Reika asked Haruhi.

"I guess." Haruhi said. "Are you?'

"Not really." Reika said truthfully, taking Haruhi by surprise.

"Why not?" Haruhi asked. "You were so happy planning it."

"Planning is not the same as attending." Reika said. "My mother is coming, she is going to judge every aspect of my school life. Not to mention, I just got a call from one of my old classmates who is coming today for god knows what reason."

"One of your classmates from homeschooling?" Haruhi asked.

"Yes, the girl I told you about." Reika said. "The one that used to get me into trouble."

"If you hate her so much, why did she call you?" Haruhi asked.

"Fair warning, I guess." Reika said sighing.

Before Haruhi could ask any more questions, the boys started to come out of the dressing room and they had to go down to the salon. The servers started to set up plates and the pastries. The orchestra had stopped playing, the guests and their parents all started to flow in and out of the salon.

The Host members were doing a good job of entertaining the parents as mothers swooned over them, just like their daughters. Those genes had to come from somewhere, right? Haruhi was watching them all in disbelief.

While the mothers were easily entertained by the Tamaki, the twins, or Mori and Honey. Kyoya and Reika had the more difficult task to keep the fathers busy.

"You're are Kyoya Ootori, aren't you?" one of the fathers walked up to Kyoya.

Kyoya turned. "Yes, I am." he said to the man before introducing Reika. "And this is my fiance, Reika Niigata."

"A pleasure to meet you." Reika said smiling courteously.

"Do the both of you work in the Host Club?" the man asked.

"Yes." Kyoya responded with his usual amount of social charm. "Miss Niigata is my assistant."

"That's impressive." another father entered the conversation.

"What a smart way to insure your cooperation when you're both grown." said a mother.

"I like to think so." Reika said. "We make a good team."

Their conversations started to branch out as Kyoya started to explain the Host Club's daily goal to portray different time periods and cultures as authentic as possible to their guests. As for Reika, she started to explain to the mothers her process of choosing themes and planning events.

The day started to wind down as Kyoya finally got a chance to sit down and run the numbers of Tamaki's unexpected expenses. Reika was still wrapped up talking to parents, they all wanted the opportunity to talk to the illustrious heiress of the Niigata Enterprises and S&amp;A Enterprises.

"This is a bit too much," Haruhi said to Kyoya as she looked around. "Even by our standards. You could buy a small country with all the money we're wasting."

"What nonsense." Tamaki said popping up. "That's not the Host Club way at all and you know it. Happiness is above any price tag. Besides, think of all the exposure we'll-"

Haruhi pinched Tamaki's hand for resting on her shoulder, making Tamaki stop short to squeal in pain.

"No, Haruhi is right." Kyoya said as he stopped typing on his computer. "You have over shot the budget."

Haruhi and Tamaki were both taken aback by Kyoya's negative comment towards Tamaki's spending. "Kyoya." Tamaki said.

Kyoya closed his laptop, ready to get serious. "The use of the salon withstanding, you had a period style carriage shipped in all the way from France." he said in his usual cool tone. "Must you always be so capricious. Your impulsiveness overwhelms my accounting skills."

"Typical." Haruhi said as she walked away from the second years.

"Whatever!" Tamaki said back to her. "Capricious is just another word for creative. I'll have you know that the whims of the Host Club King are the stuff of dreams! No price is too high." he said as he continued to follow Haruhi.

"Don't you think you were too hard on him?" Reika asked Kyoya, who was holding in a laugh from Tamaki's display of affection towards Haruhi. "It's not like we don't have over a million yen set aside just for his creative fancies."

"Yes, I know." Kyoya said. "But he also needs to grow up, there won't be someone to always keep him from going too far."

"I see your point." Reika said sitting next to him. She closed her eyes and sighed for a minute.

"Taking a break?" he asked her after a while.

"Yes." she said. "Today I'm reminded why I don't socialize with that many people. I don't know how you've been managing it for all these years."

He smiled at her. "It gets easier." he said.

"I hope so." she said smiling back.

"And if it doesn't." he said, grabbing her hand under the table. "You can always lean on me."

"Likewise." she said. "You can always count on me."

"Father?" Tamaki called from the entrance of the salon. Making Kyoya alert.

"I better go help Tamaki." Kyoya said.

Reika stood up too. "If Chairman Suoh is already here, our parents can't be that far behind." she said, starting to worry. She didn't worry for nothing, because she soon saw her mother entering the salon. "And there she is."

She started to walk towards her mother when Kyoya held her hand firmly. "It'll be okay." he whispered to her.

Reika gave him a thankful smile before walking up to her mother. "Hello, mother." she said. "How did you find the fair?"

"Your achievements are adequate." Mrs. Niigata said dismissively as she looked around the salon. "So this is the club where you have been spending all your time with."

"Yes, this is the Host Club." Reika said smiling, hoping her mother would think dismissively of it as she did with her daughter's grades. Which, by the way, were in par with Kyoya's and Tamaki's, as well as the top second year students of Ouran Academy.

"The club itself is disappointing." Mrs. Niigata said. "Your time would be better spent in an academic club. But I am glad that at the very least your poor taste has aligned yourself with some powerful allies."

It was an insult, at best, but Reika chose not to be rocked by it. "Thank you." she said, taking it as a compliment with a sour face. She was ready to see her mother depart when a certain girl waved at them.

Mrs. Niigata smiled politely at the girl before walk up to her. "Lady Eclair, what a surprise to see you here." she said, with Reika in tow.

"I came to see Reika, of course." Eclair Tonnerre said standing up to greet Reika in the invading French custom. "So nice to see you again."

"You as well, Eclair." Reika said politely.

"Congratulations on your engagement." Eclair said, there was a tone in her voice that Reika did not like. It reminded her of the says when she and Eclair used to compete with each other in useless tasks.

"Thank you." Reika said.

"To tell the truth, I also came for business reasons." Eclair said. "But I couldn't miss seeing my best friend, now could I?"

Mrs. Niigata laughed pleasantly surprised. "Lady Tonnerre is welcomed anytime to our home during your visit." she said.

"Thank you for the gracious offer." Eclair said.

Reika was losing interest in the conversation between Eclair and her mother. It was nothing more than ladies of the same standing class trading complements rather than talking about anything of actual value. Her eyes shifted to where Kyoya stood as his father approached, Mr. Ootori didn't look too happy.

"Excuse me." Reika tried to get out of ill company as she started to walk towards Mr. Ootori and Kyoya. She was too worried to notice her mother excusing herself as well to follow Reika.

"What do you think you're doing?" her mother whispered to her as she grabbed on to her arm and made Reika face her. "You can't interfere on their business."

Reika felt herself almost give up, then she heard it. Like many had heard when Mr. Ootori slapped his son. Reika flinched, she didn't even need to turn around to know who it was. The vow she made with Kyoya echoed in her mind, she would be there for him. Now, just because her mother was holding her back, was not an exception.

"Wasn't it you who told me that a wife stands by her husband no matter what?" Reika asked her mother sternly, taking Mrs. Niigata by surprise as she let go.

"Is this how my son has been wasting his time?" Mr. Ootori said cruelly as he turned his back on his son. Kyoya knelled on the floor to grab his glasses when he saw Reika walk up in front of him.

"I wouldn't call it wasting his time." Reika said, making Mr. Ootori turn around. "Because it was his dedication and passion for this 'waste of time' club that made it easier for me sign to those papers, because I knew that I could be happy even if he treated me half as well as he treated his friends. If I hadn't come to know who Kyoya was through this 'waste of time' club, I may have dragged my feet to the end when it came to this engagement."

"What are you doing?" Kyoya whispered behind her.

"Yes." Reika said answering the question that the hundreds of adults in that room were asking themselves. "It is disrespectful of me to be speaking to you, my future father-in-law, in this form. But, frankly, right now I don't care. I will deal with the consequences later. Though I want to make something clear, I will never apologize for this. Because I will stand by Kyoya no matter what." she said turning around to face Kyoya and lead him out the salon before she turned back to Mr. Ootori who was still speechless. "And wasn't that what you wanted from the beginning?"

Kyoya and Reika were almost near the door when the Host members came to check on Kyoya. "Kyoya, are you alright?" Tamaki asked his best friend, concerned.

"Your dad is so mean." Kaoru said.

"You should never, ever hit someone who is wearing glasses." Honey said.

The twins deadpanned. "I don't think it's really about that." Hikaru said.

"Senpai, he wasn't upset with you because of the Host Club, was he?" Haruhi asked, making Tamaki worry.

Kyoya passed through Tamaki and Haruhi. "Don't worry about it, it's not like I haven't been expecting this." he said as he walked away.

"Because of the Host Club?" Tamaki asked in disbelief and guilt.

"Don't worry too much about it, okay?" Reika tried to comfort Tamaki before going after Kyoya. He was long gone, but she knew exactly where he would be.

She knocked on the door of Music Room #3. She got no answer and walked in anyway. Kyoya was typing on his laptop, not looking up at her.

"You shouldn't have interfered." Kyoya said, his tone was enough to give a snow storm in Antarctica a run for its money.

Reika sighed, laying down on the couch opposite to where Kyoya was sitting. "Can we skip this argument? I am going to get reprimanded enough by my mother when I see her." she said.

Kyoya continued to type for another five minutes until he spoke. "Then why did you do it?" he asked.

"Like I said." she said turning on her side to face him. "Because I will stand by your side, no matter what. Be it arguments with Tamaki, plotting your next schemes, or your father. You can always count on me to be there, liking it or not."

"And why would you do that?" Kyoya asked.

Reika let out a chuckled, she laid on her back to stare at the ceiling instead of him. "I don't know." she said. "I guess normal people would call it love."

"Love?" he asked her as she kept staring at the ceiling, she couldn't the surprise on his face or how he put his computer away to look at her. Analyzing every aspect so he could tell if she was telling the truth. "Are you saying your in love with me?"

She laughed nervously. "I thought we weren't doing this." she said. "It's too soon, don't you think?"

He smiled at her uneasiness with the subject, he was no different, but it was refreshing to see that she struggled with it just as much as he did. "If you love me, you should say it." he said.

"If I do, you're not going to say it back." she said.

"Maybe I will." he said trying to coax her into saying it. "If you mean it, that is."

"You will probably laugh at me." she said.

"I won't." he said.

"Seriously?" she asked him, considering the idea.

"Seriously." he said. "But you must look at me, so I don't get it confused with you declaring your love for the ceiling."

Reika drew in a big breath as she shifted her position to sit down on the couch. "Kyoya Ootori, I love you." she said with all her courage.

Kyoya smiled brightly at her words. "I know." he said smugly, ruining the moment.

Reika stood up angrily. "Are you kidding me?" she asked him, she was far more vexed at him than ever before. She threw her hands in the air when he started to laugh at her reaction. "You said you won't laugh!"

She started walking to the door. "Wait, don't go." he called out to her as he followed. "Wait."

"No! I'm so done with you right now, Ootori." she told him.

He hugged her from behind, making her whole body paralyze from head to toe. "I love you too, Reika Niigata." he whispered in her ear. She didn't say anything, she just smiled and bit her lip. He turned her around, feeling almost worried about her quietness. "Is that okay with you?"

She smiled brightly. "Right now," she said. "I am galaxies farther than just okay."

He smiled back before he kissed her, she wrapped her arm around his shoulders to kiss him back.

* * *

Kyoya and Reika returned to the Host Club to be notified that Tamaki had left to escort a girl that his grandmother introduced him to. Reika was whisked off again by parents as the rest of the Host Club were trying to find out who Tamaki's escortee of the evening was. Haruhi had just returned from changing clothes and the women in the room were enchanted by how great she looked on her fourth changing of the day.

"Haru-chan looks great!" Honey commented.

"She does." Mori agreed.

"Not bad." Hikaru said. "So where did the boss go?"

"He was looking forward to this the most." Kaoru said.

Haruhi overheard and decided to reply. "Our King is lodging in Music Room #3." she said, with a bitter and disappointed undertone. "He's entertaining Lady Eclair."

Reika paused for a minute when she heard the name, almost dropping the vase she was carrying. Her eyes twitched as everything seemed to make sense.

"Well, well, well." Hikaru teased.

"Sounds like someone is a little jealous." Kaoru said, Mori and Honey agreed

"Like I said, I'm not." Haruhi said.

"Like you said?" the Host boys said in unison as they tilted their heads.

"That's the first time you said it." Reika commented. "To us, at least."

Haruhi stayed quiet for a minute, considering her words. "Look, I-I just think that he's being even more irresponsible than usual." she said. "You said it yourself, Kyoya-senpai, he's impulsive."

"True." Kyoya said. "He certainly is. But in this instant he is obeying the whims of his grandmother."

Haruhi was silent again as she considered what Kyoya said and what she had seen from Tamaki's interaction with his grandmother.

"Uhm. You know, now that I think about it," Haruhi said. "Tamaki-senpai's grandmother seemed really cold towards him earlier. Is there some special reason for that?"

The Host members all looked at each other, considering if they should tell her or not. "Well, everyone else knows about it." Hikaru said.

"See, Tamaki-senpai is illegitimate." Kaoru said. Reika slowly started to ask guests to leave, and soon the salon was empty except for them.

Hikaru launched into Tamaki's backstory. From the death of his grandfather, the unloving marriage of his father, and to the love he felt for Tamaki's mother that sired a child, Tamaki. From there Tamaki's grandmother's refusal to accept Tamaki's mother into her family, Tamaki's mother's company going bankrupt and Tamaki's grandmother's deal with Tamaki. Tamaki's mother would be well taken care of if Tamaki came to live with his grandmother in Japan without any contact with his mother.

"Wow." Haruhi said when Hikaru was done.

"The current patriarch may be Chairman Yuzuru Suoh," Kyoya said. "Technically, but for the time being all the family's assets remain under the control of Tamaki's grandmother. Once more, with his mother's health being so frail, Tamaki understood the prospects facing her if she were to be living in debt. So he agreed. Not long afterward, weather out of anguish or plain guilt over had bartered her son away for financial security, Tamaki's mother left France in shame and went into hiding. Her current whereabouts are unknown. To this day he has never seen her again, not once."

The Host Club atmosphere was suddenly grim, as they all reflected over Tamaki's backstory. Haruhi thought back to the time of her mother's funeral, understanding that Tamaki was a kindred soul when it came to losing something as precious as a mother.

"I had no idea." Haruhi said. "He always seemed so cheerful. Who would ever guessed."

"That's because whatever life had to throw at him, he knew it would never be as bad as that." Reika said. "Conquering something like that, makes everything else seem so trivial."

"If I were in senpai's shoes, I don't think I could ever forgive my grandmother for something like that." Haruhi said.

"It's easy to feel sorry for him." Kyoya said. "But the hardships he endured as a child helped mold him into the person he is today. He'll be fine. The Host Club is his refuge, which means when all is said and done, he still has us."

Everyone was touched by Kyoya's words, and everyone knew how truthful they were. As well as how comforting it was to hear as Haruhi still held some doubt on her face, it was removed as she saw all the reassuring smiling faces that agreed with Kyoya. Haruhi smiled too.

The doors of the salon opened, the light shining in from outside as the members in the room could see the shadows of Tamaki and Eclair.

"Tama-chan!" Honey called out happily, but the mood was dull and cold.

"Everyone," Tamaki said without his usual enthusiasm and cheerfulness. "I have an important announcement."

Reika closed her eyes and sighed as she looked not at Tamaki, but at Eclair. Her smug face said it all, that Reika didn't even need to listen to Tamaki to know what he was going to say.

"As of today, Lady Eclair Tonnerre and I are officially engaged." Tamaki said, as the members looked at him in disbelief, especially Haruhi. "Further more, the Host Club will be permanently dissolved after the Ouran fair. That is all."

"And, of course," Eclair said with Tamaki's stolen happiness. "Reika, you will be maid of honor, right? You are my best friend."

Reika took a deep breath before responding. "Of course." she said, trying to block out the noise of Haruhi's gasp. "Nothing would make me happier."

"Great!" Eclair said. "Now you are engaged, and I'm engaged. It's perfect, isn't it?"

There it was, the nail on Reika's coffin that she had been expecting since their first encounter that day.


	19. This is Our Ouran Fair!

**Chapter 19**

_This is Our Ouran Fair! _

* * *

It was a few hours after Tamaki's announcement, and though everyone was shocked with the news, they all hoped that Tamaki would change his mind. Reika and Kyoya were on their way to a family lunch, they had barely spoken to each other since they left school. Reika was looking out the window, lost in thought, while Kyoya was growing uneasy about the silence.

"Would you care to explain what happened today?" Kyoya asked her, trying to sound impartial while he was actually curious.

Reika looked away from the window for a minute. "Which part?" she asked him coyly.

"Who is Lady Eclair Tonnere to you?" he asked. "You don't seem to particularly like her, and yet…"

"I'm going to be her 'bridesmaid'?" she asked chuckling.

"Yes." he said.

She sighed. "Eclair and I have a complicated relationship." she said. "Are you sure you want to know this story?"

"I think you know the answer to that." he told her, smiling encouragingly.

"Alright." she said. "Eclair and I were playmates growing up. I know what you're thinking, she lives in France, but even though our encounters were six or seven times a year she was the closest thing I had to a friend at the time. I considered us friends, she thought of me as her rival. Not an unlike thing to think when we both come from equally powerful families. Everything I did she had to do better, no matter what it was. But there were certain things that she could never match up to me and nothing made her more angry than that. Actually making friends, being one of those things."

"Clearly." Kyoya commented, making Reika laugh.

"I shouldn't laugh." she said. "We had similar upbringings, who knows? I could have ended up like her."

"But you didn't." he assured her.

"I feel responsible." she confessed.

"About what?" he asked.

"You heard her, 'Now you're engaged, and I'm engaged. It's perfect, isn't it?'" Reika did her best impression of Eclair's voice while rolling her eyes at the words. "She still thinks this is a competition."

"Even so, it doesn't explain why Tamaki would go along with it." Kyoya said.

"She has something up her sleeve," Reika said. "And I think I know what it is."

Kyoya waited for her to tell him, but she didn't. "Care to share this insight, Reika?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Not yet, I don't it to influence your decisions." she told him. "You know about the third reason why Eclair is in the country, don't you?"

He nodded, looking outside. "Her family is buying out one of the smaller Ootori medical companies." he said calmly.

"Making your father a less than pleasant man." she commented to herself. "So, the question of the day is, what are we going to do about it?"

Kyoya looked up at her, he knew she had a plan. "We think we both have a good idea of what we are going to do." he said smiling.

"Yes, we do." Reika agreed with a matching smile. The car had arrived at the restaurant as they both got out. "You take care of your end of the problem, and will handle mine."

"Sounds like a plan." he said offering his arm for her to take as they walked inside. They both sighed when they saw their parents waiting for them. "Are you ready?"

"Are we ever?" she asked him, making them both smile.

Lunch went by quickly, a few pleasantries traded here and there. Food was just a distraction from the real reason they had gathered. Reika questioned the purpose of her presence there. She wasn't allowed to talk, just watch, as Mrs. Niigata and Mr. Ootori discussed the details of the marriage.

"As for the date," Mrs. Niigata said. "I would prefer a time after their last year of college."

"To what end?" Mr. Ootori asked. "They should get married after high school."

Reika and Kyoya shared shocked looks from the opposite side of the table. They both knew they loved each other, but neither of them wanted to rush into a marriage. Especially at such a young age. While the adults went back and forth arguing on the time of the marriage, Reika and Kyoya were having a nonverbal conversation of their own. After coming to the agreement that neither of the adults were going to budge, it was them for the kids the speak.

"How about a compromise?" Reika suggested to Kyoya, cutting through the argument and rendering the adults silent for a minute as they watched the scene in front of them.

"Meeting halfway sounds like a good idea." Kyoya agreed, after all, this was their lives. "Two years into college?" he asked, standing up and reaching out his hand over the table to Reika.

"Four years from now." Reika agreed, shaking his hand. Like it was a business deal.

"Is that acceptable to everyone?" Kyoya asked his father and Mrs. Niigata with nonchalance as he and Reika sat back and waited for the inevitable green light.

Mr. Ootori was the first to fold. "Agreed?" he asked Mrs. Niigata.

"Agreed." she said. It was a trap, one that neither adult could come out a winner if they said otherwise.

"Good." Reika said gathering her purse, ready to leave.

"The meal was great." Kyoya said politely, also getting ready to go. He stood up and helped Reika out of her chair. "We'll be leaving first."

"We have a lot of work ahead of us." Reika said.

"Is this about that dreadful Host Club?" Mrs. Niigata asked, prompting Mr. Ootori's attention.

"Of course it is." Reika and Kyoya said at the same time when they were halfway to the door, neither of them looked back when they spoke and neither cared at the moment about what they parent was thinking. There were bigger things at stake.

Mr. Ootori smiled once they were gone. "It seems like the children are getting along well." he said raising his wine glass.

"Just as planned." Mrs. Niigata said clinking her wine glass with Mr. Ootori's. "Now about this pesky Host Club?"

"I wouldn't worry." Mr. Ootori said. "It seems that it will no longer be a problem."

* * *

Early that next morning, Eclair and Reika were sitting across from each other quietly drinking their tea.

"What brought on this sudden invitation?" Eclair asked innocently.

Reika put down her teacup. "Nothing much, I just wanted to talk to you." she told her.

"I'm apologize for not coming to pay my respects to your brother this year." Eclair said sincerely.

"That's not I came to talk about." Reika said shooting down the subject completely.

"Is this about me asking you to be my bridesmaid?" Eclair asked her tone making a one-eighty twist back to fabricated innocence. "Because I don't want you to feel pressured into asking me to be your bridesmaid. Especially since I will be probably be married by then."

Reika laughed. "This isn't one of our games." she told her seriously.

Eclair put on her binoculars and smirked. "Yes, that's exactly what this is." she said. "You can't make a move like that and not expect me to hear about it."

"This isn't chess. There are no strategies and no checkmate at the end." Reika said.

"Ah, yes." Eclair said. "I remember how terrible you were at it."

Reika sighed annoyed. "Do you even realize what you're doing?" she asked.

"Yes, I'm getting married." Eclair said. "And I am destroying anyone who gets in my way. You remember how irritated I get when things don't go my way, don't you?"

"You don't know how far the Host Club will go for one of our members." Reika said. "So why not just give up now?"

Eclair laughed. "It's that a threat?" she asked.

"I don't make threats, Eclair." Reika said. "I make promises, remember?"

"You should know better than threaten me, Reika Niigata," Eclair said, ignoring Reika's comment. "Or did _you_ forget? Maybe I should remind you. I hear your fiance's family is going through some troubles."

"And that should scare me why?" Reika asked unimpressed. "You read the financial reports too. Tell me, what is the current top three grossing businesses in the world?" Eclair's eyes narrowed, making Reika smile. "Exactly, so what about your threat should make me worry? Because a concept you never seemed to grasp when we were children is that two is always better than one."

"That's where you are incorrect." Eclair said taking off her binoculars and smiling. "I have Tamaki now."

"Do you now?" Reika asked. "Do you really think that you can possess someone who already gave his heart to someone else?"

"What about you?" Eclair asked. "Kyoya Ootori might be your knight today. But you know how men have pride issues, do you really think that that won't drive a wedge between you?"

"If you marry Tamaki, the prince charming will turn into a broken toy." Reika said. "You will both be stuck in a loveless marriage."

"And you're worried about me?" Eclair asked dubiously.

"I'm worried about a lot of people who will be hurt by your selfishness." Reika said. "Yourself included."

"Well, thanks for your concern." Eclair said dismissively as she stood up. "But I don't need it."

"Do you even love Tamaki?" Reika asked, as a final attempt to try and get through to Eclair.

"I don't have to love him." Eclair said, her back facing Reika. "But if I had to love someone, Tamaki isn't the worst choice."

"Are we really going to do this?" Reika asked standing up.

"Yes." Eclair said turning to face her. "And remember what I told you about your fiance's pride. I worry about you too."

Eclair left the tea shop, Reika sat back down, sighed, and finished her tea. She picked up her phone and dialed Kyoya.

"As expected, it didn't work." Reika said when Kyoya picked up. "She should be headed for the Host Club now."

"Are you okay?" Kyoya asked.

"If everything works, there shouldn't be anything to worry about." she said. "How is Haruhi doing?"

"As well as it could be expected, I suppose." he said.

"How is your end of the plan going?" she asked.

"Thankfully, Tamaki didn't spend all of the money in our reservoir." he said. "Everything should be set for tonight."

"If you need more, you know you can always ask me, right?" she asked.

"It's my plan, I can do it by myself." he said.

Eclair's words echoed in her head. "I know." she said. "I just - I just want you to know that if you ever need any help, I'm here."

"I'm aware." he said coldly at first. "I'm always grateful."

Reika smiled to her, sighing in relief. "That's good to hear." she said.

"When are you getting back to the Host Club?" Kyoya asked. "Because I think that I will need your help with something in Music Room #3."

"Oh, I think I can be there really soon." she said coyly. "You know, to help you."

"I'm looking forward to it." he said deviously before hanging up.

* * *

Before anyone knew, things were set in motion. The Ouran Fair was about to start in less than an hour and the Host Club members were impatiently waiting for Tamaki to arrive. Reika stood by the window as the sun was getting ready to set, while Kyoya was calm and simultaneously worried as he tried to call Tamaki.

"Still, nothing." Kyoya cursed under his breath before he started to dial again.

"Kyoya-senpai, what's with this outfit?" Haruhi asked trying to distract the Host Club members and herself from worrying, as she commented on the french 17th century dress she was wearing.

"We told you," Kaoru said, "It's a costume for the special parade."

"You look so cute Haru-chan." Honey said, making Reika smile as she looked away from the window.

"I don't understand, why am I dressed as a girl?" Haruhi asked.

"Ah, come on. It's cosplay so it's okay for you to dress like a girl." Hikaru teased.

"I am one, you know." Haruhi said, a little more ticked than she should have been.

"And we didn't want to let Reika feel left out." Hikaru tried to reason.

"Fine." Haruhi said rolling her eyes while Hikaru laughed.

As the conversation died down, Kaoru turned to Kyoya, "Well?" he asked, inquiring about the phone call.

"No luck." Kyoya said shutting off his phone, and sounding defeated. "He's not there."

The other Host Club member looked up, worried. Their hopes wavering for the first time.

"I can't believe senpai didn't show." Haruhi said. "I really thought he was going to make it, despite what she said."

The room went silent for a while as the member finally let the seriousness of the situation finally set in.

"Why don't you try calling Tamaki's house?" Reika suggested to Kyoya. He nodded and took his phone out again.

"Hello, Shima?" Kyoya said when the older woman on the line picked up. "Been awhile, hasn't it? It's Kyoya."

"This is about master Tamaki, isn't?" Tamaki's housekeeper said on the other end of the line. Kyoya's phone was loud enough that Reika could just about hear as she stood beside him. "I'm sorry, Kyoya. But the master will be departing for France soon." everyone was in shock. "I tried to talk him out of it. But he said that the Suoh family has forgiven his beloved mother, and that he was finally getting to see her again. He also said that if he stayed at Ouran any longer his capriciousness would only continue to make trouble for you and everyone else in the club."

Kyoya was getting angry as his shoulders went up, Reika put a hand on his back trying to calm him.

"How could he be so stupid?" Kyoya said, mostly to himself. As he turned to inform the rest of the Host Club members what was going on. "Evidently, Tamaki is planning to return to France."

Everyone in the room was in shock. "Tama-chan is going to leave us?" Honey asked.

"You're kidding me?!" Hikaru said angrily. "He can't just let it end so suddenly."

"Hikaru," his brother tried to soothe him.

Reika closed her eyes and sighed. "Oh, Eclair. You've really done it this time." she whispered to herself.

"Excuse me, sir." Shima said, still on the other end of the line.

"Yes?" Kyoya said, putting the phone back to his ear.

"I was just thinking," she said. "If the master's mother really as is as a remarkable woman as he claims she is, then I can only imagine she would be upset with the manner in which the master has chosen to leave Ouran academy."

"Do you know when he's leaving, Shima?" Kyoya asked, a plan forming in his mind.

"I'm afraid his flight is this evening." she said.

"Why is he leaving so soon?" he asked.

"He would have left sooner, but he said he had to wait until the Ouran Fair was ending." she said just as Kyoya and Reika noticed Eclair's car with Tamaki in it, leave the academy through the window.

"Tamaki." Kyoya called out, and the rest of the boys came to the window.

"Tama-chan!" Honey called out too.

"No way!" Kaoru said.

"The Ouran fair isn't even over yet!" Hikaru said.

"My family's car should be in the parking lot." Kyoya said as he rallied the boys. But Reika noticed that Haruhi hadn't moved an inch, which worried her as the younger seemed to be in shock until Kyoya called her attention. "Haruhi, let's go!"

Haruhi stood up quickly as she and Reika picked up their skirts and ran with the boys to the parking lot.

Reika caught up with the boys, while Haruhi was still lagging behind. "Eclair has a plan, she wouldn't make it this easy." Reika said.

Honey looked at Mori, the boys nodded at each other. "We got this, Rei-chan." Honey said as they split off from the group.

"You have a plan?" Reika asked Kyoya as they reach the parking lot and were trying to find his family's car.

"Not this time." Kyoya admitted. "What about you?"

"Looks like we're going to have to improvise then." Reika said as she followed him to the car.

"We're in a hurry," Kyoya said to the driver as he leaned down to the window. "Can you drive us?"

The driver seemed nervous. "I'm sorry, sir." he said. "But…"

"What is it, what's wrong?" Kyoya asked.

"She didn't." Reika said to herself as she caught on to what was going on.

"Well, you seen." the driver said. "The thing is…"

They heard footsteps behind them, as the Host Club members slowly turned around. Kyoya stood up, finally realizing the situation.

"You wanna tell me you orders?" he asked the Black Onion Squad that was assembling behind him. "Let me guess, you've been hired to protect Lady Eclair."

"I'm truly sorry it's come to this." the team leader said as they approached the Host Club members, "But as you know, as members of the Ootori Private police, we answer to your father."

"Damn it!" Kyoya yelled, ready to slam his fist down on the car, but Reika stopped him. The look in her eyes told him that she had a plan.

"I'm terrible sorry, sir." the team leader said. "But we've been ordered not to allow any of you to leave. Even if we have to stop you by force." to prove their point the Black Onion Squad fighters pulled out taser sticks.

The twins pushed Haruhi behind them to keep her safe, Kyoya reached out for Reika but she was already standing in front of the squad with no fear in her eyes.

"Reika!" Kyoya called out to her.

She looked back and smiled at him. "You know what the best thing about being a Niigata is?" she asked no one in particular as they all looked at her puzzled. She looked at the taser sticks. "You can't use our own weapons against us."

"What?" she heard some of the squad members question her.

She smiled again. "Delta-Echo-Five. Niigata. Self-destruct." she said.

"Voice-recognition confirmed. Self-destruct initiated." a robotic voice echoed from each taser as they sparked and fritzed on the hand of each of the squadrons. Those who were lucky not to get tased, threw theirs on the ground.

Just in time for Honey and Mori to arrive with the carriage that was supposed to be in display at the festival. Causing even more of a panic and distraction to the private police.

"Hikaru, take the carriage." Mori said as he climbed off. "If you use the back hills bypass you can cut them off."

Honey and Mori stepped in front of the remaining conscious members of the police force, causing them to fear as they acknowledged the masters that were in front of them.

"Come on," Kaoru said to Haruhi as he extended his hand to help her climb on. But Haruhi stood in place, still shocked.

"Haruhi," Kyoya said to her. "Go get that idiot. Hurry." he said pushing her into the carriage as Kaoru helped her up. "Now go! This is your chance."

Hikaru hit the horses as they started to move out of the parking lot.

"Stop that carriage!" one of the police members yelled before he was occupied with Honey.

Honey jumped in front of the exit. "Takashi, don't go easy on them!" he said.

"Don't worry, I won't." Mori said. Honey and Mori fought on the men as the carriage escaped.

One of the unconscious members who had been tazed stirred, as he saw Reika he reached for Reika.

"Kyo-" was all she got out before as the man covered her mouth as he remembered what her mere words did. Her arms reached out for Kyoya as he turned towards the man and knocked him out with one punch. The man's arms loosened as he fell to the ground.

"Are you okay, Reika?" Kyoya asked her as he held her close.

"I'm - I'm okay." Reika said in shock. She hugged him back before pulling away to look at him and smile. "I never knew you could hit like that."

Kyoya let out a small laugh. "There's a whole lot you don't know about me, Miss Niigata." he said.

Reika laughed as they turned back to the fight. In no time Mori and Honey had stacked up a pile of the famed Ootori Private Police.

"I warned you guys, picking on my friends is a big no-no." Honey said dusting off his hands.

"You should never underestimate the Ouran Host Club." Kyoya said, a little more proud than he let on.

"Yeah." Mori agreed.

Kyoya looked down and fixed his glasses, looking worried. Reika patted him on the back. "Come on, you know they'll do just fine." she said.

He looked up at her and smiled. "You're right." he said.

"Now, let's go catch up with them." she said nodding towards his family's car.

The four remaining Host Club members approached the car. "I'm - I'm sorry, sir." the driver said, locking the doors. "I still can't drive you."

Kyoya frustratedly sighed, "Come on, it's not like it's going to make a difference now." he argued with the driver.

"I'm sorry, sir." the driver said apologetic. "I could lose my job."

"I understand." Kyoya sighed.

"What if you didn't have to drive us?" Reika proposed, smiling like she had already won as her fingers ran over the car's letter emblem on the front bumper. SA.

"I can't unlock the doors." the driver said.

She continued to smile as the boys looked at her with puzzled expressions. "I'll do it for you." she said.

"What are you talking about, Rei-chan?" Honey asked her what everyone was thinking.

"You guys know my family's primary company, right?" she asked them.

"Niigata Enterprises?" Mori asked.

"No," Kyoya said smiling as he caught on. "S&amp;A Technology."

"Exactly." she said twisting the emblem and pulling it off the bumper. "The first thing my father taught me when I built my first model was," she said holding the emblem close to the car door, the emblem was pulled to the door like a magnet before unlocking all the doors. "Never built something you can't get into."

The boys laughed as they pulled open the car doors and got in. "That's so cool, Rei-chan!" Honey said smiling.

She opened the driver door and looked at the driver. "If you want to get out, I'll understand." she told him. The man got out of the car and nodded.

"I hope it works out, whatever it is that you're doing." the driver said.

Reika smiled and got in. "Don't worry, I'll make sure you don't lose your job over this." she said as she turned on the car.

"Do you even know how to drive?" Kyoya asked from the backseat.

"Drive it?" she asked laughing. "I designed it." she said as she pulled from the parking space and out of the parking lot. "Looks like there's a lot you don't know about me too, Mr. Ootori."

* * *

It didn't take long for Reika and the boys to catch up to Haruhi and Tamaki. After, that is, that they picked up the twins from the pumpkin patch. They got there just in time to see Tamaki jump after Haruhi as they both fell from the bridge and into the river in a romantic embrace.

Tamaki carried Haruhi in his arms out of the water and into the walk way. They so seemed lost talking to each other that they didn't notice the rest of the Host Club waiting for them at the stairs.

That is, until the members decided to make themselves know.

"Tama-chan! Haru-chan!" Honey was the first to call out.

"Hey, Boss!" the twins said in unison, as they ran to Tamaki and Haruhi.

"Oh, man." Kyoya said, fixing his glasses. "He's such a moron."

"But that's what we all love about Tamaki, isn't it?" Reika asked him with a smile. "He has a big heart." Kyoya let out a chuckle and nodded.

Reika noticed Eclair's car parked on the bridge as she looked at scene below her. Just as Reika was about to call out to Eclair, her car pulled away.

"I hope she's okay." Reika said to herself.

"And even if she tried to ruin the Host Club?" Kyoya asked her.

"Even so." she said. "That's the second time she's had a fiance leave her." Kyoya looked at her confused. She shook her head. "That's another story."

"I hope to hear it some day." he said, putting his arms around her.

"I'm sure you will." she said smiling.

There was a comfortable silence between them as they watched Tamaki, Haruhi, the twins, and Honey talking.

Kyoya looked at his watch. "We better get going if we're want to make the festival." he said.

"Come on, guys!" Reika called out to the other Host Club members. "We have a festival to attend to!"

They all came running, and piled into the car. Reika looked back at the carriage that was on the river. "It's a good thing we had that other carriage." she said before opening the car door.

"Hey, here's the driver?" Tamaki asked.

"I'm the driver today." Reika said as she pulled turned on the engine.

"You can drive?" Tamaki asked.

"Actually, Rei-chan designed this car." Honey informed him.

"Really?" Haruhi asked surprised.

"It runs in the family." Reika said smiling.

* * *

As the festival came to a close, the boys were each taking a turn dancing with Haruhi. She first danced with Honey, followed by Mori, the twins, and just as Tamaki was finally going to get his turn, Kyoya intercepted briefly before turning her over to Tamaki.

Reika laughed as he walked over to her. "May I have this dance?" he asked her, holding out his hand.

"Of course." she said smiling as he took her hand.

He pulled her close. "Four more year until you're mine." he whispered to her.

"Think you can survive that long?" she teased him.

"I think I'll manage." he spun her around and brought her back to him, a little closer than he had intended. "With a lot of restraint, that is."

"That makes two of us." she whispered to him, looking from his eyes to his lips and smiling coyly.

"Just four more years." Kyoya whispered again.


	20. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

* * *

It was a long journey filled with ditches and mountains, but Reika and Kyoya did make it to their happily ever after. If that's what you want to call their wedding. It wasn't without it's interruptions, nor was it ever boring.

On their last year in the Host Club, Renge decided to relapse on her romantic pursuit of Kyoya. It was interesting week, before Reika lost it, that is. Mori would have been proud of how Reika retained her martial arts skills, Renge was most definitely not. Neither was Kyoya, who had to stop Reika from killing Renge for kissing him. In the end, Renge admitted that her interest on Kyoya was purely for "plot purposes", not even Honey would have been able to tear Reika apart from Renge after that.

Following that incident, there were the mysterious days when Kyoya was being followed by a string of bad luck. Falling asleep during tests, pots falling out of window sills, open manholes, and rabid cats. It didn't have to be class president to put two and two together, Tamaki was the first one to suspect Nekozawa, though his theory was flawed until the cats came along. The bad luck stopped, Kyoya assured Reika that he didn't hurt Nekozawa. But really, daylight isn't really a method of torture, now is it?

Then there was the big one. When Yuzuru Suoh was finally overthrew his mother and married with his French paramour, making Tamaki the legitimate heir of the Suoh empire. Kame Niigata was fully aware of the situation and started to push her daughter in Tamaki's direction out of averance. Reika was annoyed, to say the least. Tamaki was as uncomfortable as Haruhi in the situation. Kyoya started to retreat into himself before he finally stood up and decided to openly fight for what he wanted for once. It was a tough month for everyone.

On Reika's first year of college her mother had a heart attack from all the stress, she was in a coma for over a month. Reika and Kyoya both stepped up during those hard days, with school and Yoshio Ootori pushing them towards marriage in various, creative *cough cough* ways. They overcame the pressure, though mostly begrudgedly. Soon Kame Niigata was back on her feet, at a reduced work rate, that is.

Now, at the end of their second year of college, four years after knowing each other. They stood ready to sign their marriage license at their wedding. With Haruhi as her bridesmaid and Tamaki as the best man, the rest of the Host Club members in the audience shedding tears.

"Do you, Kyoya Ootori, take Reika Niigata as your lawful-wedded wife?" the minister asked him.

"I do." Kyoya said, with no hesitations even though he was nervous beneath his calm exterior.

"And do you, Reika Niigata, take Kyoya Ootori as your lawfully-wedded husband?" the minister asked her.

"I do." Reika said easily with a smile, almost making Kyoya feel guilty for being nervous.

"Then I now pronounce you man and wife." the judge said. "You may now kiss the bride."

What years of being interrupted before a kiss or in the middle of a kiss had taught them was to make it quick before anyone felt embarrassed. Kyoya smiled at her and pulled her towards him, she smiled back before he leaned down and kissed her.

Soon after the wedding, they got on a helicopter that landed on the grassy landscape of the reception. Everyone was full of smiles as the bride and groom waved to their friends and family as they elevated through the air.

Reika and Kyoya took a quick visit to the airport where they had their first kiss, a place they had been meaning to visit for a while. After the quick trip through memory lane, Kyoya whisked Reika off to his chalet in Karuizawa.

Through the four long years of being engaged, Kyoya and Reika had been caught in compromising positions before. They were two functioning teenagers, after all. Kyoya's hand slipping up Reika's school uniform, Reika caught undoing a few of Kyoya's buttons, and the several interesting places that the couple found themselves making out on, under, and in between. No one caught them more than the Host Club members on their first two years.

The twins would be taken aback, then tease until it tested Reika's patience and Kyoya gave them a death look. Honey and Mori never seemed to be fazed by it. Haruhi would close the door and pretend she didn't see anything, the complete opposite of Renge, who seemed to have found inspiration for her latest manga issue. But none quite beat Tamaki's reaction, which was to look completely shocked and quickly turn into a shade of red that would make tomatoes turn back to green with jealousy. He would find a corner to rock himself trying to find comfort until Haruhi would finally find him and carefully explain that what Reika and Kyoya were doing were not quite as different as what they sometimes did.

However, on contrary to the opinion of the twins and Renge, the couple was quite restrained. They never quite managed to make it past second base. Kyoya, not only a gentleman, but also very traditional, to which Reika agreed with.

So, it wasn't much of a surprise that the newlyweds were excited for their honeymoon. Kyoya had set two weeks aside, and so did Reika. But as two weeks turned into three and not a word was heard from the couple, not even the house staff had seen them out of Master Kyoya's room for since they arrived. No one would even have known if they were alive had not been for *cough cough* certain noises coming from the bedroom and the empty food strays left outside the door.

When the thirty day mark came around, Tamaki and Haruhi were sent down to Karuizawa to find out what was going on. If Tamaki hadn't been sick with worry, he would have known better than to just burst in unannounced.

"Senpai, come on!" Haruhi said as she trailed behind him since the entrance of the house. "Haven't you learned anything from walking in on them before?"

Her warning was in vain as she found Tamaki sticking his head in to what she guessed was newlywed's room. She prepared herself for another uncomfortable situation and Tamaki's red face, but when she reached the door she saw something else entirely.

Tamaki was smiling wholesomely as he waved for Haruhi to take a look. What they saw, was perhaps the second reason why the couple had chosen to spend their honeymoon in Karuizawa. Reika and Kyoya were tangled up with each other and the sheets as they slept peacefully in the dark room.

"We should let them sleep." Tamaki whispered to Haruhi as he closed the door. "It's really early anyway, and you know that Kyoya isn't much of a morning person."

"Maybe we can visit Misuzu's pension." Haruhi said.

Tamaki smiled, "I think that's a great idea."


	21. Author's Note

p style="text-align: center;"I want to thank everyone who read, reviewed, favorited, and followed emThe Host Club Presents: Reika Niigata/em. /p  
p style="text-align: center;"And those were encouraging and patient with me when I took really long hiatuses. Sorry about those./p  
p style="text-align: center;"Sadly, we reached the end. Hopefully you were satisfied with the ending. /p  
p style="text-align: center;"I know I left it pretty open in terms of character back stories and involvements with original characters, so if you have questions, feel free to PM me. I'll be glad to answer any questions or comments./p  
p style="text-align: center;"Thanks for everything,/p  
p style="text-align: center;"AliasesGarble/p 


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